Real As the Sun
by samus18
Summary: A human boy is turned into a shark [it actually makes the least bit of sense, so please don't run away] and meets the F.E.A. members, who try to help him get home and turned back into the human he once was.
1. Default Chapter

**Note**: I own nothing from Finding Nemo. But I DO own the plot. :D Also, I'm not sure at all about continuing this, or making it super long; unless I get reviews. I'm just gonna see where it goes. O

**Summary**: Basically, the story is about a boy who's turned into a strange-looking sea-creature by an evil scientist. Ok...it's not as corny as it seems. You can guess, F.N. characters find him and the story goes from there.

"Real As the Sun"

_The sun was shining up above._

_The mist was on the sea._

_The clouds were flying high and low,_

_As they were meant to be_

In a large container attached to the side of a boat, there swam a very ridged and somewhat bemused tiger shark. It was dark in the container, and hardly any room to swim around in. But that wasn't the worst of the shark's problems. Not in the least.

He could feel the container bump every now and then. He must have been in a boat...or attached to one, somehow. The young shark only wondered what the odd, new feeling was in his bones - or what he thought were his bones. They certainly didn't feel right - something was definitely wrong. He wondered how long he would remain in the darkness.

Inside the boat was a man, and another person steering. The man was fairly handsome with sleek, black hair and a carven face. He was tall and his eyes were a shocking grey. He held onto one of the poles on the boat and grew more anticipated as he reached his destination. He was a scientist, and a very talented one. Too talented, as it would soon be revealed.

The captain slowed the boat and finally came to a stop. By now, they were miles from the Sydney harbor.

'Excellent...we're finally here,' the scientist thought.

The captain did and said nothing. He merely sat and waited for the scientist to finish his "business" and be off. "So what's the deal with this shark, Moriarty?" he asked, meaning the scientist.

Moriarty made no reply right away, while he was getting a large net-like tool and opening the container. "Oh...I just tagged this shark for a few reports...maybe a few tests."

The captain nodded. "Oceanographer, are you?"

The scientist inwardly grinned to himself at the understatement. "You might say that, yes."

The lid opened and the tiger shark suddenly thrashed violently. His tail flapped against the walls of the box and water splashed everywhere. 'Hold still, brat,' Moriarty thought bitterly. It took him long enough to get the tool properly wrapped around the sharks body, all the while the captain watching with interest.

When Moriarty finally succeeded, he bade the captain tip the container halfway towards the water. The driver did so and Moriarty gave the shark a swift push.

_Splash!_

The tool was released from the coarse skin and the shark was free. For a while, the shark quivered and shivered in such a strange fashion, that the driver asked, "Sure you didn't overdo it on these 'tests'?"

Moriarty was not at all surprised by the sharks' behavior, and only made a small noise. "These things tend to get..._restless_ after being away from their natural habitat." They watched as the creature finally twirled about and swam off like mad. "There he goes," Moriarty said, mostly to himself. 'Good ridance, brat.'

After a minute or two, the captain went back to the steering wheel, started the boat engine, and him and Moriarty were gone from that foreboding place as quickly as they came.

But the shark still remained, watching with a heart as dead as the sun on a stormy day. He felt the vibrations in the water from the boats' depart, yet he took little notice. After what seemed like an eternity, one single question formed in his mind.

_'What have they done to me?'_

It was simple. The tiger shark was not a shark at all, but a boy. A human boy. At least in soul. The scientist, Moriarty, had conducted the awful experiment on the son of one of his lab partners. In Moriarty's mind, it was clearly an act of revenge. The boys' father had humiliated Moriarty in front of a presentation speech, by concluding Moriartys' persuasion that genetic experimenting could be completed successfully on human subjects, if not treated in the wrong way. After the presentation, Moriarty was the laughing-stock of the science lab. So he took out his rash temper on his opponent's son.

The boy-turned-tiger-shark was practically brain-dead. So many questions and panicky phrases ran through his mind, he was in a complete fluster. He felt like he was dying, he thought he was sinking. Yet, as if on que, his tail made a waving motion and the boy-shark moved forward. He felt muscles in the tail. He could move it.

'I look like a shark,' he said distantly in his mind. He moved his tail again and again, and again. Yes, he swam. Like a shark. The young shark stopped suddenly and let out an awful noise that sounded much like a sob. 'What have they done?' He hovered there for a long time in despair, before an unpleasant sensation occurred in his gills. His throat contracted and he felt like he was suffocating. In another panic, he swam forward a ways and found he could breath again. "Wha-?"

He knew now he couldn't stay still. He remembered his father talking about sharks, and how it wasn't right for them to stay still for too long. 'I _can't _be a shark!' he said in a fluster. Then a realization came into his mind. "Shark," he said out loud, and then gasped. He could still talk!

**Note**: Please let me know what you think of this chapter.: )

**New note**: I am cleaning this story up a bit - I wrote it a while ago and have noticed a lot of mistakes. I apologize to anyone who liked it the way it was before, lol.


	2. Getting Acquainted

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 2

"It's no use," Anchor said with his head hung low, disappointed, "we'll never find another place to take up our group. We've practically searched the entire ocean, and what have we found? Nothing!"

Bruce, Anchor, and Chum were swimming by a large reef with, not surprisingly, no occupants whatsoever. At least not any _visible_ occupants. Ever since the ship that they stayed in had fallen into the abyss, they've been trying to find another home.

"Aw, cheer up, mate!" chimed Chum, "If we keep lookin', we ought to find somethin' around 'ere." He gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back. Anchor still hung his head low.

Bruce was silent all the while, but when he looked to his right, something truly extraordinary caught his attention. "Look, mates!" he said and pointed with his fin. Then he grinned, "Looks like we found ourselves an new 'ome!"

Anchor and Chum looked in the direction he was pointing. A dark outline of a steel-clad ship was visible in all the gloom. There didn't appear to be any inhabitants. It was rusty and covered with all sorts of sea-algae and plants. And the best part, was that it rested beautifully on the ground, instead of on the edge of a sea-cliff.

"Great goin', Brucie!" cheered Anchor. He clapped his fins together.

"I thought we'd never find anything!" Chum said, relieved. He received a knowing glance from Anchor. "I mean um...I knew it all along..." he said confidently.

Bruce chuckled at their luck. "Come on you two," he said with a wave of his fin, "Let's go and see what we 'ave ourselves!" He swam off, and Anchor and Chum followed after.

The sight of the ship became clearer as they drew closer. And also much larger than they initially expected. "This is perfect!" Chum said, noting the ships' size. "With any luck, our fishy friends will 'ave no problem escaping if Bruce has one of his moments." Anchor and Chum shared in a short burst of laughter. Bruce only rolled his eyes with a semi-amused grin. "Very funny," he said, "Only because you two 'aven't been in a frenzy."

There was a large, torn hole on the side of the ship. Probably created by a cannonball of some sort during a war. No one could know. Anchor was the first one to swim in.

"Nice and roomy," he commented while the others swam in after him.

"Good taste in color," remarked Chum.

They all exchanged glances. "We'll take it!" they said in unison. Bruce laughed in his deep voice and swam off to give himself a tour.

Anchor wiped a fin across his right eye. "Glad we got _that_ over with. I feel much better knowing we've got a place to stay."

"Not like we'd 'ave 'ad a problem even if we didn't."

"Not like we could take up the F.E.A. without grabbin' attention either."

Chum swayed his head once as if to say, 'Whatever.'

Meanwhile, Bruce had just swam out of an empty room with more than enough rust to cover the entire boat, when he heard a small whimpering noise. He peeked his head around the corner and allowed his hearing to guide him in the right place. Carefully and cautiously, he could tell the noise was coming from one of the rooms on the far end of the ship. He swam a little slower towards the noise. You could never be too careful living in the ocean. The only thing he could think of that might possibly have been a threat to him was a killer whale...or even another shark with a fight to pick. But this didn't sound like either.

Calmly and steadily, Bruce peeked into the room, so if it were an enemy, he could brace himself for whatever was to come. Or if it were a fish, he wouldn't scare him or her. But it was neither of those things. Well...it was a shark, but he certainly didn't appear dangerous. And by the looks of it, he was a tiger shark.

The poor guy was swimming slowly back and forth in the moss-covered room with his two fins covering his eyes. It appeared to Bruce that he was crying.

"Um..." Bruce said loudly enough so this tiger shark could hear. Which he did.

The young shark looked up quickly and uncovered his eyes. He was indeed young...just entering his teen years by the look of it. He looked utterly mortified and startled to see Bruce hovering in the doorway.

"You alright there, mate?" Bruce asked in a steady voice.

But the shark made no answer. Instead, he started breathing faster and backed away against the wall. You'd think he'd seen a ghost.

"Don't be alarmed," Bruce assured him, "what's your problem?"

Still no reply. Bruce turned around and went to go find Anchor and Chum. The two popped their faces out of what appeared to be a dining hall.

"'Ey Bruce! We've found the kitchen!" Chum said.

"We've got a slight problem," Bruce said, taking no notice of Chum's recent discovery.

"What's wrong, Bruce?" Anchor said, swimming closer to him.

"You better come 'an see for yourselves," Bruce waved a fin and the the two followed him.

When they got to the room, Bruce stopped them. "We may 'ave an owner already," he motioned towards the room, "Another shark's in there. Tiger by the looks of it." At this point, Anchor and Chum blinked. "But 'e's seemin' kinda strange. You'd think he were a fish or somethin'. Scared as an anchovy."

Anchor blinked again and put a fin to his mouth in thought. But Chum said, "Why don't we go in and introduce ourselves to the guy? Y'know, show him we're friendly?"

"Can't hurt," Bruce said.

Chum was the first to swim in. The tiger shark eyed him, at the corner of the room, with all-too-visible wariness. "'Ello there!" Chum said in an enthusiastic voice, "I'm Chum. This 'ere's Anchor." He put a fin on Anchor, who just swam in. Anchor smiled widely.

"Greetings!" he said.

The tiger spoke for the first time. "What do you all want?"

Anchor and Chum looked at each other. Bruce remained in the doorway, observing.

"Nothin' at all, mate," Chum said.

"We just want to...uhh..." Anchor fumbled for something to say.

"Know if this boat is yours," Chum finished with a grin, exposing all his teeth.

The tiger shark flinched. "Sure is jumpy," Anchor muttered to Chum.

"Say," Chum said, swimming a little closer to the tiger, "what's wrong? Why so on edge?"

With a gulp, the tiger answered, "I...I...I..."

The three other sharks blinked. "No need to be frightened now, mate," Anchor said, now openly confused at the sharks' behavior.

"I uh...I'm not sure." The tiger shark lowered his head for the first time in front of the other sharks and shook it hopelessly.

No one said anything for a while. Finally, the tiger shark spoke again. "I'm trapped. Something's not right."

Again, the three sharks looked at one another, awaiting a further explanation. Bruce spoke up. "What's your name?"

The tiger shark raised his head. "Sebastian."

"Well Sebastian," Bruce said, "anything we can do for you? You're awfully shaken up."

Sebastian shook his head. "No, there's not a thing you can do for me. Nothing, nothing, _nothing_." As he said that, he bent his head again.

This time Bruce swam right up to him and tapped him on the back, carefully. Sebastian raised his head and his eyes grew wide. Then he realized it. These sharks could talk - yet they were, genetically, physically, and spiritually sharks. He forgot his misery for a moment.

"You," he pointed a fin at Bruce, "you _talk_!"

If Bruce, Anchor and Chum were confused before, it was nothing compared to how they felt now. "You doin' alright, mate?" Anchor asked. "Course we can talk."

"But..." Sebastian actually swam towards them, "but you're all sharks!"

Bruce cast Chum a befuddled look. Chum passed that look over to Anchor. "This guy's nuts," Chum said. Anchor nodded.

"Must've 'ad a bump on the 'ead," Bruce murmured.

Sebastian meanwhile had realized how foolish he had been. "You sharks," he said and swam closer to them, "I..." he shook his head, "I'm sorry. I've made an entire fool of myself." He extended his fin first to Chum. "My name is Sebastian. I um...I got an awful bump on my head when uh...when I hit myself against an ocean liner." Chum warily shook Sebastian's fin. Sebastian had proceeded to tell the sharks that he was really a human, in fact the human boy who was taken by Moriarty. But he found too many great faults in telling them so. First off, they would never have believed him, and second of all, they might even try to kill him. Everyone knew how unfair humans were to sharks. He seriously doubted they would show him kindness if they knew...assuming they would even believe him, of course.

"Well uh...nice to meet ya, Sebastian!" Chum said, and then smiled.

"I apologize if I confused you all. And no," Sebastian said with a shake of his head, "this ship isn't mine. I was just...looking around, yeah. It's all yours now."

He moved towards the door and made to swim off, but he was held back.

"Wait a minute now!" Anchor called. Sebastian stopped. "Don't you wanna hang up with us for a while?"

Bruce and Chum looked at each other. Bruce smiled and put a fin over Sebastian, as if to pat him on the shoulder. "Sebastian my friend," he began and swam alongside with him, "have you ever heard of the F.E.A?"

**Note**: Thank you all for the reviews!


	3. Getting A Feel

**Real As the Sun**

"F.E.A?" asked Sebastian. "No."

"Well then, my friend, you've got a lot to learn," Chum said, swimming up to the right side of Bruce.

Sebastian looked back and forth between the three sharks as they explained that F.E.A. stood for Fish Eaters Anonymous and told him how it worked.

"Ever 'ad fish, mate?" Anchor asked.

"Well..." Sebastian hesitated, "yes, I have."

"Ever get tired of the 'abit?" Bruce asked.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a 'habit,' but..."

Anchor and Chum looked at each other. But Bruce spoke up, "S'alright. Thinkin' maybe you wanna quit, what with half the ocean 'ating you and fearin' you for it?"

"Um..." Sebastian had to constantly remind himself that he was supposed to act like a shark. But then, the things that Bruce, Anchor and Chum were talking about didn't sound like anything a shark would think or do at all. Of course, Sebastian didn't know sharks could talk. Or maybe he could understand because he was a shark now? "Alright," he said, "I suppose. Yes."

"Great!" Bruce boomed, giving Anchor and Chum a high five...or a high fin.

Sebastian actually smiled a little for the first time since he was changed into a tiger shark. He liked these guys. They weren't at all how he expected sharks to be. They continued explaining to Sebastian the way that their club worked, all the details, and so on.

"So are you in?" Anchor asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Sebastian said, "yeah I'm in." Inwardly, he wondered if he'd ever see another human again. He wondered if he'd ever see another tree, another building, another of anything that existed only in the upper world. Now, it seemed like everything he was once part of was as real as the sun was under the ocean. Still, he didn't want to lose hope. If he could somehow figure out how he was turned into a shark, then surely there must be a way to be turned back. The chances looked bleak though. After all, sharks couldn't survive out of water any more than a human could live underwater.

Chum did a back flip of joy. Anchor smiled and cheered. Bruce grinned widely, and Sebastian had to fight not to flinch at the sight of his many teeth. He gulped.

"Way to go, mate!" Bruce said, "Welcome to the club!"

Sebastian smiled meekly. "So what do we do first?" he asked.

"Explore our new 'ome!" Anchor and Chum said in unison. Bruce smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, right, our new 'ome! Come on Bastian!" Bruce said while swimming quickly out of the doorway. Sebastian smiled humorously at the nickname he was given and followed slowly after them. They were all so eager. Menacing, but friendly at the same time. Yet it still took a while before he even grew accustomed to the feel of breathing underwater.

_Later..._

Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Sebastian were swimming peacefully outside of the ship which was their new residence. "So," Sebastian said, "if you all don't eat fish, what do you eat?"

"Kelp, my multi-striped friend!" Anchor said. "Speaking of, looks like we've got ourselves a meal!"

There, a little ways ahead of them, was a group of kelp plants, swaying gently with the ocean current. Sebastian forgot for a moment and was looking for a fish, but then he remembered and nodded sagely towards the kelp. "Interesting," he said.

"C'mon, mates!" Chum said, "Let's eat!" Bruce, Anchor and Chum sped off towards the kelp and began eating some, here and there. Sebastian swam up near the kelp, but they didn't look in the least bit tantalizing (though of course, neither did eating raw fish). His stomach flip-flopped and he looked at the others, who were still feeding. He took a deep breath. He didn't want to be rude, so he took a small bite from the kelp with his mouth. He even used his fins a little to hold it.

'I'll never be able to get used to life without fingers,' he thought disappointingly as he took a bite.

He made no move. Then he chewed once. Twice. The tiger shark made a face and took the kelp out of his mouth with his fin. He could take it no longer. Spitting out the little pieces that were still in his mouth, he gagged and shuddered.

Bruce, Anchor and Chum stopped eating. Chum just finished swallowing a piece and looked towards Sebastian. Then the three of them gave one another a knowing look. Bruce swam up to Sebastian. "You alright there, mate?" He patted Sebastian on the back, so as to help him from choking.

"I...can't..." Sebastian breathed heavily and struggled with his words, "eat that stuff!" He spit out a bit of kelp.

Bruce laughed, causing Sebastian to give him a confused look. "Completely understandable! A lot of first timers 'ave trouble getting used to the taste." Anchor and Chum swam up. "You ought to 'ave seen Chum the first time he tried kelp!" Bruce let out a bellowing laughter. Anchor joined in.

Chum, however, rolled his eyes. "Well I got used to it, didn't I?"

Finally, Sebastian cleared his mouth and looked towards the other. "How long do you think it'll be before I get...used to this?"

"Well now, it depends," Bruce said, calming down.

Sebastian shrugged and sighed. "Whooo. That was...awful!"

"Don't worry now," Anchor said, "you'll get used to it. Eventually."

Bruce and Chum giggled. Sebastian sighed. He kept finding it harder and harder to adjust to this new life, even if he did have some hopes of being the creature he once was. "It doesn't matter. I'm not hungry."

Anchor shrugged. Bruce said, "Why don't we go back to our new 'ome?" He began to swim in the direction. Anchor and Chum nodded. Sebastian followed along, still shuddering at the taste of the seaweed.

When they got to the sunken ship, they had a little club get-together. Bruce, Anchor and Chum taught Sebastian the pledge, and it only took the tiger shark a few times before he memorized it. After the routine, Sebastian swam onto what looked like was once a small stage. He cleared his throat. "Hello," he waved a fin, "I'm Sebastian!"

"Hello Sebastian," the three sharks said together, all grinning. They were glad to have a new member. Their club was steadily growing, and to be honest to themselves, they never truly thought any other shark would want to follow their trail.

"Let's see, um...I've had fish a few times but...I usually ate other things." He wiped his forehead, struggling with his speech. "And um...it was pretty good, but the other things were even better, yeah." He swam off the stage, a little humiliated. But the Bruce, Anchor and Chum applauded nonetheless.

Bruce swam over, onto the stage. "Hello. My name is Bruce."

"Hello Bruce," Anchor and Chum said.

"It has now been seven weeks since my last fish, on my honor!" He raised a fin over his heat. Sebastian smiled, enjoying the new group he was part of.


	4. Tidings and Murmurs

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 4

Anchor, Chum and Bruce had always had a good sense of humor. They all got along well with one another, and other sharks, unless a fight was unavoidable. Bruce tended to have a cruel sense of humor towards other fish, but he always meant well. At least he was trying to quit his habit of eating fish. The sharks, excluding Sebastian because he was new, all did what they could to help one another, in whatever they needed or wanted to accomplish. All three of them had been friends for a very long time, and now they were glad to have made another.

It was Sebastian's fifth day as a shark, yet despite the daily activities he participated in with his new friends, he was nowhere used to life as a shark. Still, every now and then he covered up his inner identity, by not revealing anything that would give Bruce, Anchor and Chum the slip. Sebastian just felt, deep in the pit of his shark stomach, that it wasn't a good idea to let them know that he wasn't really a shark. Yet he felt no guilt in the lie.

_Lie_.

He liked to think of it as a cover up. One thing he did manage to master was swimming. Even the strangest of sharks could swim on their own, unless they had a bad fin.

However, there were times when Sebastian did tell the truth about himself. Not that he was, necessarily, faking his friendship with the sharks. Honestly, Sebastian admitted he still didn't like the taste of seaweed, he didn't like all kinds of fish...to eat. He's never had a crush, and this applied to both humans and sharks. That day, Bruce thought it was a good idea for Sebastian to share a little more about himself. Besides the meetings they held together for the F.E.A., they still knew very little about the mysterious tiger shark, save for small details here and there.

Sebastian wasn't over the stage in the sunken ship though. He was with Bruce, Anchor and Chum out in the sea. They were going for an afternoon swim.

"Well," Sebastian was saying, "my Mom always tried to get me to eat things I didn't wanna eat. Actually, I was pretty cooperative, unless it was something extra disgusting!" They all laughed. "None of my tricks ever worked though, she always foiled my plans." He gave the last part a bit of story-telling emphasis.

"What did your mother try to feed you?" Anchor asked.

Sebastian's chest tightened. He shook his head. "Oh, all sorts of things. All different kinds of things..." he fumbled. After a minute, he looked at Bruce, who was swimming alongside his friends peacefully. "What about you, Bruce? What were your parents like?"

"Well..." Bruce stopped and put on a sorrowful face. He put one fin to his mouth, "it's...often hard to...to talk about..." his visible barrier failed and he burst into tears. Sebastian was taken aback and moved away a little.

'I must have hit a nerve,' he thought, feeling bad about making Bruce cry.

Anchor and Chum came to the rescue. Chum patted Bruce on the back, and Anchor tried calming the poor Great White with words of comfort. Sebastian could only watch, but summed up the courage to ask, "What's wrong? Why is he crying?" Chum came over.

"Well, y'see mate, he never knew his father," Chum also seemed a little touchy about this. Sebastian spoke before he thought.

"But why didn't he know his Dad?"

Chum looked at him with his teal-colored eye. The fish hook still stuck out of his nostril, and Sebastian noticed the scars on Chum's face for the first time. "Well, er...Brucie's never told us, an' Anchor an' I never 'ad the heart to ask 'im."

Sebastian nodded slowly. Bruce calmed down and sniffed, wiping one of his eyes. Anchor gave Bruce a pat on the back. "S'alright now, mate. You've always got us!" He smiled.

"Well, I guess I don't blame you for not asking. He sure seems sensitive about it," Sebastian said.

"I'm alright," Bruce said, swimming over to Chum and Sebastian. Anchor followed.

"Sorry about that," Sebastian said. "I didn't know that'd make you cry."

"No worries, mate," Bruce said and grinned. Sebastian had actually almost gotten used to those teeth.

The rest of their day was as casual as ever, but Sebastian liked keeping it that way. Him, Bruce, Anchor and Chum talked with one another about all sorts of things, whether important or insignificant. Sebastian liked it when one of the three would fire off a joke about the other. Then the "victim" would take it personally, yet he'd always forgive and forget. They acted like a family, only they were friends, who all had something in common: they wanted to change themselves. Sebastian found that hard to believe above all else, even above him being a shark. He was actually dying to see himself in a mirror of some sort, but at the same time, too afraid.

The four of them explored various parts of the ocean, though never exceedingly far from the sunken ship. Sebastian was always nervous when going out into the ocean, even if he was with three other sharks, who weren't exactly weak. He supposed it would feel the same if a sea creature had been turned into a human. They swarmed around a kelp bed that day, and Sebastian even attempted to try the kelp again, but it was the same horrible taste as always. Actually, Sebastian had been eating a small sea-plant that had as little flavor as possible. He didn't know the name of it. It usually resided near rocks or reefs, but Sebastian missed his own food terribly. Several times, the sharks would come upon a group of fish. Most of them grew wide-eyed and swam away as fast as possible. Sebastian even tried to touch one, having never seen a fish up so close, but he remembered that to them, he must have looked positively menacing. He was purely amazed with the entire ocean world that existed under his nose, and yet he never knew how incredible it really was. Television documentaries and aquariums were no comparison.

One day, a Butterfly Fish was too afraid to say no to Bruce's offer to come to the club. He shivered as the sharks guided him to the sunken ship. Sebastian thought the fish looked like he was about to faint. He felt sorry for the poor guy. He half expected one of his shark friends to eat him! But to Sebastian's surprise,none of them did. They escorted the Butterfly Fish to their home, and after saying the pledge, they urged the fish onto the stage.

He shook openly and gulped, loud enough for everyone to hear. "H-h-hello..." he said.

'The guy has a nice voice,' thought Sebastian. It was true. The fish had a rich voice, not too deep, yet not too high. Sebastian thought he'd make a good singer, if fish could sing. 'Why not?' he thought, 'sharks can talk and be vegetarians.'

"My name is..." he gulped, "Ace."

"Hello Ace," everyone said.

Ace took a deep breath and fidgeted with his fins, "I...uh..." They all waited for him to speak. Bruce murmured to Ace:

"S'alright, little bite. Just tell us a little about yourself."

Ace gave a long, shuddering sigh. "Well um...I...I like kelp." That was all Ace could say.

Sebastian felt even more sorry for him. He desperately hoped that no one would try to eat him. He began to trust the sharks, but they were still sharks...and the last thing Sebastian wanted to see was a feeding frenzy, even if it was only one fish. They all hovered there, waiting for the little fish to do something, or talk, or anything.

"What else do you like?" Sebastian finally asked, breaking the stifling silence.

"I do like...exploring," Ace said after a pause and gave a nervous laugh.

"Say, we do too mate!" Anchor chimed.

Everyone smiled, except for Ace. He was a nervous wreck! Sebastian felt that, never again for the rest of his life, he would ever be in a stranger situation. Here he was, a shark, and in a sunken ship. With other sharks. Who were listening to a fish! He held his head in his fins. Ace was talking, but Sebastian couldn't hear him, save for the pauses and nervous dialogue poor Ace used now and then. The butterfly fish talked on, and Sebastian slowly sank to the ground.


	5. By a Mile

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 5

Sebastian awoke almost as quickly as he fell asleep. For a split second, he felt that same panicky feeling he had in his chest the first day he became a shark. He shook his head, and noticed that everyone was looking at him, excluding Ace. Anchor had just finished waving a fin in front of Sebastian's face.

"What happened?" Sebastian asked, "Where did Ace go?"

Bruce, Anchor and Chum all exchanged glances. "We saw 'im home, 'Bastian," Anchor said.

Sebastian blinked, now fully awake. "Oh." He was disappointed he didn't get to say goodbye...though on the other fin he felt that Ace probably wanted to get home as soon as possible. Maybe he had a family...a wife, kids, who knew? "Too bad I kinda fell asleep," he said and yawned.

"Oh, you ought to 'ave seen yourself!" Chum said, "Ace was gettin' to talking about past experiences with sharks, then boom! You 'it the deck!" He laughed. Bruce and Anchor did too.

Sebastian blushed, though he was sure no one noticed, with him being a shark. He shrugged and laughed at himself a little. "Too bad I couldn't have seen it," he said, "I was too busy doing it!" That sent everyone off in a new fit of laughter. Sebastian was pleased.

"Say," Bruce said, "why did you fall asleep, 'Bastian?"

"I don't know...I guess I was just tired...I mean!-" he halted abruptly.

"Tired?" Anchor put in.

"Since when do tigers tire so easily?" Chum asked, moving in closer. Bruce also held a curious expression and blinked once.

"No, no, no, no, you-you got me all wrong! I wasn't tired I was...bored!" His heart was racing. If he were human, he probably would have been sweating. Sebastian's father used to tell him things about all different types of sharks found off the coast of Sydney. Sebastian was surprised by nearly everything his father told him. Sharks could actually go a long period without eating, and needed little rest or nourishment, very much unlike people. What Sebastian had just said to Bruce, Anchor and Chum would be enough to arouse even a human. A shark, falling asleep. Imagine!

The three sharks then smiled. "You 'ad us for a second there, mate!" Chum said. Sebastian was all shaky, but he managed a hollow chuckle.

"Yeah," he said, "falling asleep? Since when do sharks fall asleep? Hah! I was just bored." He grinned and looked out one of the broken windows from the ship.

There was silence for a while, as no one could think of anything to do or say. But finally, Bruce asked, "So, what's on the menu today?" By which he meant the schedule. Sebastian thought he meant literally, but Anchor answered him before the tiger could ask a question.

"'Ow 'bout we go exploring? Just like our friend Ace loved doing?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" Chum said.

"Well I'm in then!" Bruce agreed.

"Me too!" Sebastian put in. Every day he grew a little less and less afraid of the ocean, simply by exploring it. As a matter of fact, he was growing to love it. Not the shallow kind of love that a person might have for ice cream, but the true, deep kind of love that resides in one's heart. Quite literally, Sebastian grew to become fond of, and respect, all sorts of things in the ocean, from the tiniest piece of coral to a massive blue whale. Him, Bruce, Anchor and Chum have only seen one once, and it was indeed very far away. Sebastian was nearly speechless, having seen the shadow of a blue whale out in the wild. Until he was turned into a shark, he had never taken a large interest in anything that had to do with the ocean.

In an odd, unnerving, stressful kind of way, he was somewhat thankful that Moriarty turned him into a shark. Of course, more than anything, Sebastian wanted to return home, but the ocean was a whole other side of the world he really knew nothing about, and everyday he was learning more.

_That day…_

Anchor did a front flip in the water and twirled this way and that. He made excited comments and noises. Chum was looking at him, silently taken aback, but Bruce watched him with a large smile on his face.

"You're scarin' us, mate!" Chum called, with a fin on the side of his mouth.

Anchor ignored them. Sebastian watched Anchor with amusement. Chum chook his head.

"What's gotten into that guy?" he asked.

Bruce chuckled, "Probably cooped up in that boat to long."

Anchor finally calmed down and retreated next to his friends. "Today," he said, "is a great day for a swim, mates!"

"Can't we tell?" Chum remarked. Anchor only rolled his eyes and tapped Chum.

They swam as a group now, holding small conversation with each other. It must have looked stranged to outsiders, for everyone knew that sharks were largely solitairy creatures. Sebastian looked up towards the surface. He could hardly see it at all, they were down so deep. Everything around him was blue, along with other background colors such as the green from plants, or the brilliant red from corals here and there.

"Do sharks dive well out of the water?" he asked.

The other three looked at him with wondering expressions. "I mean do you sharks dive well out of the water?" Sebastian added quickly. 'I need to stop giving myself away,' he thought.

Anchor and Chum looked at one another. Bruce put a fin on his mouth thoughtfully.

"'Aven't tried it many times, Bastian," Chum said.

"I've done it a few times," Anchor put in, "put that was a while ago," he gave a hearty laugh.

"Can't say I've ever jumped out of the water," Bruce said.

"Hmm," Sebastian looked up, and then down to the sandy bottom below. "What would you say we gave it a try?" he asked with a smile, and before they could respond, he swam towards the surface.

"Careful, mate!" Chum called.

"You wouldn't want to get caught now!" Bruce called. Anchor, however, followed after him…and so did the others after seeing the two of them go.

It took a fair while until Sebastian came to the surface. The sun was brighter than ever. It vainly tried to cut through the water, but all that could be seen were shining shimmers from the water above.

It actually made Sebastian very sad to see some of the sun. He felt a burning sensation in his chest, and, though no one could see or trace it, he was on the verge of tears. He never understood how much he had missed his home, until he saw the sun.

'There is no such thing as the sun down here,' he thought miserably.

Anchor caught up to him. "There you are, mate!" he called.

Sebastian shook himself of his reverie and turned to face the hammerhead. He smiled.

"I'm gonna give it a try," he told Anchor with a grin.

"Don't let me stop you! Le'me know 'ow it goes!"

Sebastian nodded. He took a deep gulp and paddled his tail as fast as he dared. Bruce and Chum arrived just in time to watch the tiger shark disappear from the sea, and enter the surface.

It was actually not the most graceful leap out of water, but Sebastian enjoyed every second of it. The oxygen pierced his skin, and the wind was sharp against his face. For a fleeting moment, he glanced at the sun.

Then he fell back to the ocean.

Little did he know, but there were four people in a boat nearby who saw him. Even less did he know that one of them was his father, Allen.

Allen was facing the opposite direction when his son, the shark, sped out of the water. Allen turned just in time to see the magnificent "beast" return to its' home. The other people were pointing and making observations of awe. Allen stayed silent however and shook his head sadly.

Ever since his son went missing, he had been trying vainly to find him. These people in the boat he hired out as a search team to look through the water. For all anyone knew, his son could have drowned, or been lost at sea.

"Keep looking!" Allen said for the sixth time that day, "We can't give up, he might still be here!"

The men returned to their positions, and the captain steered the boat away, farther from Sebastian.


	6. Close Call

Note: Here at last is the next chapter. Sorry it took a while to update; my Internet was down for a while. XP Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

Real As the Sun

Chapter 6

Ripples from the boat propeller skidded across the blue ocean surface. Bruce, Anchor and Chum could easily sense the change in the water vibrations, but Sebastian, being truly human at heart, didn't sense a thing. He landed back into the ocean water, and could easily breath again.

Bruce quickly swam up to Sebastian, who was smiling with contentment. "'Ave you been spotted?" he asked.

"Spotted? No, there was no one around."

"No one around?" Bruce asked, very surprised.

"Y-yeah…" Sebastian felt he had made yet another slip-up, but what could it possibly have been?

"Course there's someone around, Bastian," Anchor said, "don't you feel the current?"

'The current?' Sebastian thought. 'Drat! Why didn't father ever tell me anything like this?'

But before he could come up with a believable excuse, Chum asked:

"Something wrong, Bastian?"

"Wrong?"

"Yeah, you don't, well…you don't seem quite like other sharks I've met."

Sebastian's mouth moved to speak several times, but nothing came out. "You guys," he said, "I…_really_ haven't been myself since that, that bump on the head. My senses will return to normal, ok?"

A few moments of silence passed before anyone said or did anything. "Sure, whatever you say, mate," Bruce answered. The three of them all had mildly surprised expressions on their faces. Bruce started to swim off in the direction towards their home, and Anchor and Chum followed.

Sebastian's heart was racing. He became suddenly livid with himself. 'I can't can't can't keep doing this!' he thought. 'Sooner or later, I'm gonna mess up real bad and they'll _know_ I'm not really a shark! Somehow!' He slapped a fin to his face. He continued condemning his actions as he glumly follow Bruce, Anchor and Chum back home.

One thing that Sebastian was thankful for was that sharks didn't necessarily have to eat as often as people believed. He hadn't been hungry since he ate those almost-tasteless sea-plants, and that was yesterday morning! Still, he missed the food he used to eat. He also missed his mother's cooking. At that moment Sebastian was thinking of a large cheeseburger with melting cheese, crisp lettuce, grilled beef, flavorful mustard and ketchup, tasty-

"Look out, mate!" came Chum's voice.

Sebastian looked up and suddenly drew back aghast. A piece of wood sticking out from their ship was but three inches away from his face. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Chum," he said wearily.

Chum hovered there for a moment, seriously considering asking Sebastian why he was so…well, _different_. He made to swim towards his friend, but Bruce called him.

"Chum!"

Chum swam back into the ship. "What is it, Bruce?" His voice soon grew faint as he made his way further into the ship.

Whatever bliss Sebastian felt, when he dove out of the water, was gone. Not even the many different species (however distant) that he passed or the breath-taking plants and reefs he saw cheered him up by far. He might have looked like a shark, but his emotions were still very human.

He swam into the ship. Bruce and Chum were discussing about new members to the club, if they knew any, and if they might be able to convince anyone to join. Anchor was "finning" a rusty object that looked like a sort of badge. Probably left there when the ship sank.

Sebastian settled himself to swimming in one of the empty rooms. He didn't sleep, but the descending darkness of the setting sun became clear as the day came to an end.

The next day…

Sebastian just swallowed a batch of the tasteless-plant. He swallowed with some effort, then took a deep breath.

"What is this called?" he asked.

Anchor looked up with a mouth full of kelp. "We call it clear-weed," Chum answered.

"That makes sense," Sebastian said and beamed. He was in a much better mood that day and ate a little more clear-weed than usual.

A shadow passed over Sebastian. He swallowed and looked up to find Bruce hovering over him. "Still 'aven't got used to kelp, I see." He gave a short chuckle.

Sebastian, now very much used to seeing those intimidating teeth, nodded and returned Bruce's smile. "Not in the least. I suppose I'll never develop a taste for it; much too strong for me." He took a piece of the clear-weed and held it in his fin, "I like this." He put it in his mouth, wondering if he was beginning to develop a taste for sea food, "I believe it's getting easier to stay away from fish now. The club is very effective."

"Y'think so?" Bruce beamed. "Well I'm flattered!"

Sebastian smiled again, glad that he pleased Bruce, who swam off to tell Anchor and Chum of the praise for their club. Sebastian watched him go, with a pleasant expression on his face. When he first saw Bruce, he thought he was going to be eaten by this huge great white. What shocked him afterward was that he could talk! But no. Things turned out quite differently. Bruce certainly not as menacing as he appeared to be. On the contrary, he was actually rather friendly, once you got to know him a little better.

Then he was introduced to Anchor and Chum, and they were no less frightening to behold, as is any shark. But Sebastian got to know the three, little by little. He loved their sense of humor, gruesome though it may be at times. At least they were kind to fish though. If he ever returned home, Sebastian felt he that a fish would never look the same to him.

Home.

The thought thrilled him, yet in all the times he's said that word in his mind, another thought came into it: if he went home, he would never see his friends again. That consideration pained him much more than he thought it would. His _friends_. Never again would he be humored by their jokes, their friendly outlook on life, their adventurous attitude…or their kind outlook on him.

A knot formed in Sebastian's chest; the thought of leaving them scared him.

"'Ey, Bastian!" he heard Anchor call his name, "there's a lovely bunch of clear-weed over 'ere, if you like!"

Sebastian smiled sadly. Anchor was a nice fellow, alright. "Yeah," he said, then a little louder, "yeah, I'll come! Thanks!" He swam off to meet Anchor.

"Feast your eyes on this!" Anchor pointed towards a noticeably large patch of clear-weed.

For some unknown reason, Sebastian felt horribly guilty. He stared at the soft-flowing patch of the plant, then at Anchor's eager face. Here, he had been pretending to be a shark who obviously didn't like kelp, so he took to eating clear-weed, which wasn't particularly on his list of top ten things to eat. Yet he felt horribly like a liar. Anchor seemed happy to please Sebastian, and he had no idea that Sebastian was really human.

Sebastian swallowed hard. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem, mate!" Anchor was about to swim off, but he was held back.

"Wait!"

Anchor stopped and faced Sebastian. "There's something I need to tell you, it's awfully important!" Sebastian swam to meet Anchor. "Listen," he said, "this isn't easy to say, but…" Anchor waited, with a somewhat puzzled expression, "I'm not really-"

ZCHEEEEEENG!

All four of the sharks looked up towards the surface. The sudden noise came from an anchor that was now welded deep into the sand. It came on so suddenly; the rest were stunned by it's rude initiation.

"What on earth…" Sebastian muttered. "What do they think they're doing?"

The others ignored what Sebastian said. Bruce swam a little close to the anchor. Chum followed.

"'Ey look!" he said, "it's an anchor, Anchor!"

Anchor looked at Chum and swam over to them. "What do you suppose this if for?" he asked.

"Beats me, mate," Chum replied.

Sebastian resisted the urge to answer. Then a thought came into his mind. He smiled inwardly and swam a little closer to his friends. "I once heard that humans use these things to check the depth of the water."

"You don't say?" Bruce inquired.

"Yep."

Chum poked the thing with the tip of his snout. "Seems pointless if you ask me."

Sebastian laughed. "Yeah, it does."

"C'mon, let's go 'ome," Bruce said. They swam away from the anchor. Sebastian looked back at it every now and then.

"Say, Bastian!" Anchor swam up beside Sebastian, "what was that thing you were telling me about?"

"Oh that!" he exclaimed, maybe a little too noisily, "I was just going to saaayy…." he stalled for time to think up an answer, "that…I really don't think…I'll ever get used to kelp." He ended that with finality.

"Kelp?"

"Yes, Anchor," Sebastian emitted a fake sigh, "I'm sorry. I believe I'll be forced to eat clear-weed all my life, if nothing else."

"Well," Anchor raised his fin to his mouth, "starlight, mate! We all have our things."

Sebastian smiled, but it turned into a frown when he was out of view. 'It's just not the right time,' he thought.


	7. At First Glance

Note: Ok, the OC's gonna show up in this chapter. I'm gonna try and make this fanfic really long, so, just to annoy you all (JK!) just to liven things up, I'm not gonna make Sebastian tell anyone he's human 'till later.

Real As the Sun

Chapter 7.

It was now two weeks since Sebastian had been transformed. By now, he was so used to being a shark that his senses started to kick in, however shallow. If a boat passed by, he could just barely detect the vibrations coming from the propellers. His noticed a rabid change in his eyesight as well. He could see much better underwater with every day. Not to say his eyesight was that of a humans when he was first changed; it was only undeveloped. He even reduced his predictable mistakes that would reveal him to be human. Bruce, Anchor and Chum seemed to notice this too.

"Finally recovering from that bump, mate?" Anchor asked him one day.

Sebastian swam out of an empty room with a large smile on his face. "Looks like it, Anchor."

"Say, why don't we introduce 'Bastian to our little friend, Marlin?" Bruce suggested, appearing behind a wall.

"Say, that's a great idea!" Chum said.

"Who's Marlin?" Sebastian asked.

"'E's our good pal!" Anchor replied, swimming over to Sebastian, "lives at a reef, not too far from here. What do you say?"

"Well sure! I'd love to meet him," Sebastian gave a mellow smile.

"Right then!" Bruce boomed in his deep voice, "Let's go!" And so they left.

Elsewhere…

It was a beautiful day in the anemone reef. Fish of all sorts were swimming, going about their business here and there. Shining reflections rippled off the many kinds of rocks. Seaweed waved gently in the friendly current, and everyone seemed to be in a moderate mood.

Marlin the clownfish was having a heated discussion with Bob, Ted, and Bill. They laughed every now and then, and resumed talking about their children, or school, or the latest edition of coral to the reef.

A shadow loomed over the colors of the area, darkening the plantsbut making their tones no less vibrant. It was Bruce, Anchor and Chum…and Sebastian. Several fish dashed to the safety of their hidden homes, but others who were more acquainted with these sharks, knowing them to be friends, stayed, however wary. Bruce, as usual, took up the conversation and swam over to the clownfish.

"'Ello Marlin!" he beamed. "'Ow's our favorite clownfish today?"

"Hello Bruce," Marlin replied slowly with a half-smile. He suddenly spotted Sebastian and his eyes grew wide.

Chum noticed this and clarified, "No need to be scared, Marlin, old pal. This 'ere's our friend!"

Sebastian swam no closer to the frightened clownfish; he didn't want to scare him any further. Instead, he tried to appear as friendly as possible. "Hello, Marlin!" He waved and smiled broadly, but then closed his mouth when he realized that it exposed a large number of histeeth.

"H-h-hello," came Marlin's faint reply.

"Ehm," Sebastian honestly didn't want to make the clownfish uncomfortable, so he added, "it's alright, I don't eat fish."

Marlin let out a deep breath and wiped a fin across his brow. "Well, that's a relief," he gave a hollow chuckle.

Bruce put a fin around Sebastian in a buddy-like manner. "Sebastian 'ere's agreed to join our club!"

"'E's our newest member!" Anchor put in.

"In that case, it's a pleasure to met you…Sebastian," Marlin answered.

The rest of their afternoon was spent reminiscing about all sorts of things. Sebastian had to make up a great deal of stories about his past, in order to make them believable. He learned a lot about Marlin, and was particularly interested in Marlin's story of rescuing Nemo.

"Amazing!" he exclaimed with huge eyes. He received a couple of glances from other fish nearby who were listening, but he didn't mind. "How did you ever manage that?"

Marline looked down, pleased but modest, "Oh, well, I couldn't have done it without Dory. She's a friend of mine." He looked back up at Sebastian and smiled.

Sebastian was overwhelmed that a fish had overcome such obstacles. And what was he doing at the time? School, reading a book, watching television, who knows? Something so incredulous had occurred, and he along with everyone else on land, was oblivious to it.

'That would make a great movie,' he thought.

Later…

They were heading home after an eventful day at the reef. Sebastian liked Marlin a lot. He could tell that the clownfish was a little over wary, but it was understandable, living in such a place as the ocean and being, after all, only a little fish. But he had made such big accomplishments. Sebastian smiled. The thrill of Marlin's story was still fresh in his mind.

By now, Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Sebastian had gotten used to the feel of living in the ship. They memorized every room, every turn, even every hole in the walls. Just like a new house, it was only a matter of time before the occupants got used to living in it.

'I can't wait to see what we'll do tomorrow!' Sebastian thought. He swam into the large hole to the ship, that was the entrance.

"Uh-oh," he heard Bruce say, "looks like we've got ourselves a visitor," his mouth hung in suspicion. A grayish-blue tail just disappeared around a corner of the ship.

"What do you mean, Brucie?" Chum asked and swam right up next to him.

Bruce motioned towards the direction. "C'mon mates, let's go 'ave a look." Anchor and Chum nodded eagerly, but they followed a little distance behind Bruce. After all, he was the largest of the four. Sebastian swam in the back, being perhaps even more afraid than Anchor or Chum.

Bruce peeked into the rook that he saw the tail go in, and there, picking up a silver ornament with the snout, was another shark! And by the looks of it, a mako like Chum. The shark turned around just as the gang peered in, and it was obvious the mako was a female.

"Oh dear…" she muttered to herself.

"'Ey there, 'o might you be?" Anchor asked.

"Forgive me," she replied in an Australian accent, "I'm Jetty. I was, um…unaware there were occupants 'ere already."

"S'no problem, little Sheila," Bruce said and swam into the room, "this 'ere's our 'angout!"

"Glad to meet ya! I'm Chum!"

"Call me Anchor. It's a pleasure!"

Sebastian swam in. "I'm Sebastian."


	8. A New Friend

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 8

"Sebastian," Jetty looked at the tiger shark and smiled. She had many rows of razor-sharp teeth. "A pleasure to meet you." Sebastian nodded and gave a half smile.

"Well," she said, "I'll take my leave." She let the silver ornament fall from her nose. "Sorry to disturb you. Eh…what did you say the name of your club was?"

"It's called the F.E.A," Sebastian said.

"F.E.A? What's it stand for?"

Bruce smiled at Chum, who smiled at Anchor, who smiled at Sebastian. "Bastian!" Bruce announced, "You're our newest member. Why don't you take the honor of explaining to the little sheila what F.E.A stands for?" He grinned.

Sebastian nodded. "I'd be glad to." He began explaining, as best he could, the meaning and purpose of the F.E.A. He included all the details that Bruce, Anchor and Chum had given him on the day he first joined, and even included things he learned over the past few weeks. Bruce listened, always with a smile upon his fearsome features, but eager nevertheless. Chum nodded every now and then as Sebastian pointed out significant details about their guild. Anchor waited patiently for Sebastian to finish, clearly anticipated to see Jetty's reaction.

Jetty looked slightly dumbfounded when Sebastian finished explaining. "A…a group of sharks that don't eat fish?"

Sebastian gulped. "Well, yes…but for good reason!"

"We take pride in it!" Anchor said loudly and happily.

"That's a boon," added Bruce.

Jetty was speechless for a time. "But…'ow can you all be vegetarians? What do you eat?"

"Well, we eat kelp!" Chum said.

"Kelp?"

"That's right!"

"'Ow can you stand that?"

"'Ey, it's not so bad, once you get used to it!"

Jetty shook her head. Not wanting to be too much of a critic, she said, "Well, I admire you all for sticking up for your beliefs, but this seems a mite strange for me."

Sebastian put in, "It was strange for me too, believe me. But really, if you get used to it, there is no better place to be." Bruce, Anchor and Chum beamed at that comment. Chum and Anchor gave each other a high fin with their tails. With another member added to the F.E.A., they were bound to gain more supporters.

Jetty was about to speak, but lost her confidence and looked down. "Well..." She looked up again as Sebastian spoke.

"You don't have to join, but would it hurt to give it a try?"

She looked down again, her face tentative. She glanced around the room and put a fin to her mouth. "Well…" she finally spoke, "I suppose…it wouldn't 'urt."

"So you'll try?" Anchor asked.

Jetty paused, then nodded, looking at Anchor.

"Wa-hoo!" Anchor cheered and did a creative little back flip. Jetty couldn't help but smile a bit at that. "You'll love it, Jet, really!"

Jetty gave a full smile this time and shrugged. "So, what do we do first?"

"Well now, exactly 'ow addicted are you to fish?" Bruce asked.

"It's eh…all I eat…when I'm 'ungry."

"Oh," Bruce looked at his friends. "Perfectly alright. Understandable." He whispered to Anchor, Chum and Sebastian. They nodded. Anchor and Sebastian exchanged smiles.

"Alright," Bruce said, swimming up to Jetty, "first, we start the practice of resisting the temptation to 'eat when we see'," he quoted. Jetty gave a hollow chuckle.

"'Ow does that work?" she asked.

"Simple," Bruce said, "see a fish, and don't eat 'im!" Jetty stared at him. "Alright, perhaps not that simple."

"But don't worry," Chum said, "with a little 'elp, you'll get the 'ang of it in no time!"

Jetty chuckled. She had met these sharks only a few minutes ago, and already she was enjoying their company…just as Sebastian had been when he first met them. It was in the same room, too. Jetty wasn't sorry she decided the give their club a chance. She was happy, maybe even grateful. She had never seen anything wrong in eating fish, but she didn't deduce that there was anything wrong in _not_ eating them, as good as they might have tasted. Besides, that didn't mean she couldn't eat other things that weren't fish, at least not that she was aware of.

There were now five additions to the Fish Eater's Anonymous, maybe permanent, maybe temporary. Only time would tell. The five sharks exchanged opinions and stories for the rest of the evening. Outside the battle ship, the kelp turned a dusky blue color as the sun eventually set. The ocean was dim and cold, but no less stunning than it had always been, for millions of years. Fish went into their homes and things began to settle down, while other things became more alive.

**Note**: Sorry that this chapter was shorter than usual. But I've got it all figured out. ;D


	9. Conversationalists

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 9

In his mind, Sebastian found one thing in particular very odd about being a shark: they did not sleep like humans did. The mystery was, of course, whether sharks slept at all. Sebastian might have gotten his answer. No creature can go on forever without rest and nourishment. Whenever Sebastian's shark body needed rest, he found it necessary to hover ever so slowly over the water, instead of swimming constantly at a quicker pace.

He snapped out of this sleep reverie and beheld the oceans' colors lightening with the rising sun. He saw no sign of Bruce, Anchor, Chum, or even Jetty, but feeling rather hungry, he set out to find some clear-weed. He had long given up on all hopes of having a taste of his own food and seemed perfectly content with what he had. After all, clear-weed was much better than kelp. Sebastian shuddered, still remembering the taste vividly.

After swimming a short way, he spotted a small patch of clear-weed. 'Perfect,' he thought cheerfully and swam down towards it. The current was strong that morning, as it always was, but the weed drifted slowly in the water because of its' depth. Sebastian eyed the plant for a moment, then opened his mouth to take a bite, but stopped altogether when a shadow loomed over him.

His heart skipped a beat and he looked up with wide eyes. "Oh…!" he let out a breath when he noticed that it was only Jetty. "It's you," he gave a modest smile.

"Yeah," Jetty said with a nod of her head, "I didn't expect you to be out so early."

Sebastian's mouth twitched. "Well, I was getting hungry, and I haven't seen Bruce, Anchor or Chum." He glanced back in the direction of the ship.

"Mmm," Jetty nodded again. Sebastian looked back at her. She gazed at him, and a crazy part of his mind thought for a moment that she knew what he really was. He gulped.

"Well I was just about to have some clear-weed," he said a little too quickly and lowered his head to take a bite, his eyes still on Jetty, who snorted, a thin stream of bubbles escaping to the surface and popping just as soon as they had arrived.

"I can't say I've developed a taste for this clear-weed. I think, if even I want to quit my fish eating 'abits, it's won't be in the least bit easy."

Sebastian swallowed. "That doesn't surprise me."

"No." Jetty took a glimpse of the surface, or at least the direction of the surface. The ocean was growing brighter. "Tell me…what, in all of the ocean, made you come to your decision?"

"Decision? What do you mean?"

"I mean about not eating fish." Her face was contorted, almost painfully, yet there was also curiosity. Sebastian suspected now that he must have looked foolish, eating clear-weed like a fish would have. But he shook his head.

"Well…I don't think I could ever bring myself to, to kill a fish."

"But why not? Why couldn't you?" she asked softly, swimming a little closer. She wanted to understand these sharks, Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Sebastian. Why they lived the way they did when there wasn't a single thing in all the ocean stopping them from doing what sharks did best.

Sebastian considered her question carefully. Long moments passed before he said anything. "I think," he finally began, "I think I could too easily see myself in their place. I don't mean as a fish. I mean as easily frightened, confused, and completely defenseless." Jetty blinked once and deemed the tiger shark for a while. She finally shook her head. Sebastian was truthfully speaking in terms of himself, instead of a fish.

When he was turned into a shark by that demented scientist, frightened, confused, and defenseless were three words that very much described how he felt. But he told Jetty in a form of metaphors.

"I 'ope I can understand someday, but I don't think I'm quite ready to give up…" she swallowed, "eating fish."

"Does that mean you're leaving the club?"

She grinned, her many teeth shining though there was no light. "No. I like your friends, and I like you. I think staying would be something of an…an unusual experience for me. A _good _one." Her smile never faltered. Sebastian laughed and she chuckled.

"Well I'm…I'm glad you're staying," Sebastian responded.

He began to eat some of the clear-weed. Jetty, to both her and Sebastian's surprise, lowered her head and poked at the soft plant with her nose. She blinked.

"Unusual. I don't smell a thing!"

Sebastian smiled. "That's why they call it clear-weed."

She nodded. "Makes sense."

The two of them exchanged stories about themselves. Jetty, Sebastian was sure, was telling the truth, but he had to keep as much to himself as possible. He did most of the listening.

"There you two are!" came a deep, hearty voice. Sebastian recognized it as Bruces'. He turned around.

"Hello Bruce! Where have you all been?" he asked as Anchor and Chum swam up.

"We've all been in the back, mate!" Chum said with a smile, as if Sebastian should have known this. He meant the back of the ship.

"Oooh, that's weird. I didn't hear anything." The young shark put a fin to his mouth, as he often did when thinking.

"Well, we were being 'specially quiet, 'Bastian!" Anchor explained.

"'Ow's our newest member of the F.E.A.?" Bruce asked Jetty.

"Top notch," Jetty said with a large grin.

"Look!" cried Chum with one fin on his mouth and the other pointing. Everyone looked. Sebastian expected it to be a predator of some sort, despite the fact that sharks practically had no predators, save for maybe a killer whale. "Kelp! And it's the _good _kind!"

Sebastian gave out a noticeably loud sigh of relief. Bruce, Anchor and Chum swam like crazy towards the kelp bed. Sebastian couldn't help but laugh, along with Jetty. When the trio began eating, Jetty looked sideways and turned her head a little towards Sebastian. She looked puzzled.

"Aren't you joining them?" she asked him.

"Ehhh, no. I've tried kelp once, and I don't aim to try it again."

Jetty gave a vigorous laugh. "Well, there's one thing we 'ave in common." Sebastian smiled again, but it was somewhat nervous. While Jetty was watching Bruce and his friends eat kelp, with amusement, Sebastian swam a little ways toward the surface. He had been so distracted by the events he had taken place in for the past few weeks, that he hadn't thought about his family. His heart began to ache and his throat grew dry, despite his being underwater. He was homesick for once in a long time.

He sighed. 'I miss you guys,' he thought, meaning his family. His large, dark eyes scanned the surface, as if to find some unknown answer to all his worries. But the only thing he saw was the reflection of the very distant sun upon the water and the waving of the kelp.

"You alright?" came Jetty's voice.

Sebastians' head snapped down to look at her. "Yeah!" he swam down to where his shark friends were. "Yeah. I was just thinking, is all."

"What about?"

"My family."

Jetty tilted her head to the side. "Do you miss them?"

"Yeah...Yeah, I do."

Jetty glanced down and took a breath. She put a fin on Sebastian's back. "You'll see them again," she assured. Sebastian smiled thankfully at her kind gesture, but he knew it was highly unlikely that he would ever see another human again, much less his own family.

'She doesn't know,' he thought in a strained tone. 'No one knows.'

"'Ey, 'Bastian," Anchor came and swam up to Jetty and Sebastian, "we were gonna go explore in the Deep Caverns. Care to come?"

Jetty looked at Sebastian. "I'll come, mate!" she said.

"Right 'o'!" Anchor high-tailed Jetty. "'Ow 'bout you, mate?"

"Yeah, I'd love to come," Sebastian swam up to Anchor and gave him a high-tail as well.

"Right then, let's be off!" They followed Anchor to meet Bruce and Chum.

"You three ready to take off?" Bruce said enthusiastically.

"Sure are!" said Sebastian.

They all cheered and suddenly sped off in the direction of the Deep Caverns.


	10. In the Caverns

**Note**: I originally wrote this chapter…in the first place, but my computer got a virus and I had to write the whole thing again! *throws computer out the window*

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 10

The Deep Caverns were dark and foreboding. The blackness of it seemed to have no end at all. The place was separated into tons of caverns everywhere, big and small. When the sharks arrived, they halted a fair way above the cliffs. And they were huge - even the smaller ones weren't actually small. Exchanging glances, they all swam down to the edge of one of the larger caverns.

Sebastian actually swam up to the edge and looked down. He gasped and backed up a bit. "_Egad_!"

Bruce swam up next to him and chortled. "It's a mite deep, that is."

Sebastian nodded. "Yeah…like it has no ending."

Chum swam up to them. "Creepy, ain't it?"

"That's a bit of an understatement." Jetty said as she and Anchor swam to peer over the edge.

Bruce let out another hearty laugh. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He started swimming down a ways. "'Oo wants to go first?" he joked in a deeper tone. Chum followed after. He too was wearing a cautious expression.

Anchor started joining them, but turned around to face Sebastian and Jetty. "You two coming?" he called.

Sebastian cast a quick look at Jetty, then reluctantly nodded. "Yeah…I'm coming." He swam towards Anchor. He was more afraid to be left out than he was to go down into the cavern. He swam past Anchor and tried to catch up to Bruce and Chum. Anchor faced Jetty.

"'Ow 'bout you, Jet?" he asked.

Jetty nodded. "I'll be right along," she called, however weakly. She and Anchor swam a little faster. Bruce, Chum and Sebastian were already getting a head start. All of their missile-shaped forms gradually disappeared in the ascending darkness.

Shark sight was enhanced more than a humans', so Sebastian figured at the moment that if he were human, everything would appear completely black to him. But he could still see well enough the outlines of all of his companions. He gulped and swam slowly and cautiously. Him and Jetty took up the rear. Bruce, Anchor, and Chum were more accustomed to the place, so they led the way.

Eventually Bruce stopped them all. "This is our stop," he said, just above a whisper. Sebastian was almost in complete darkness now. He followed his friends more by their voices than by the sight of them.

"It's so dark," he said in awe. He never, never in all his life expected to be under the ocean for more than five minutes at a time, exploring an underwater cavern with vegetarian sharks.

"That it is, mate," Anchor said. Sebastian could tell his voice was coming from the upper right.

"What do we do now?" Jetty asked. She was on the lower right.

"Say, look over there!" Bruce exclaimed in a hushed tone. He didn't need to tell them where. They could all see a faint blue light far to the left, just floating there. It bounced slowly and gracefully from left to right, and settled.

"Amazing!" Sebastian said, as he often did when intrigued by something, "What is it?"

"Looks like an Angler," Chum responded.

It was bright enough so that everyone could indeed see their friends a little more clearly. Sebastian even made out the reflection of the light off Chums' fish hook. Sebastian only assumed that Bruce was right about the light coming from an Angler. For one thing, Anglers had that sort of function, and for another, Bruce has lived in the ocean all his life. He did know more than any human could ever find out, even with all of their technology.

No one could exactly see the Anglers' body. Slowly, the light began to grow smaller and smaller. It was fading - the fish was swimming away. Sebastian felt a surge of fear race through him. He didn't want to be surrounded in darkness again. The light was completely gone now, and the tiger shark had to rely on his senses.

"'E's gone," Jetty said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Even in the darkness, Bruce looked up and put a fin to his mouth. "Be careful now, mates!" He called, "The current's taking up. Follow me!" He swam towards the caverns' exit. Everyone followed.

Unfortunately for Sebastian and Jetty, they were the last ones in the line and were swept away by a sudden surge of pressurized water. They both yelled as they were flung like paper in the wind…down, down into the depths of the darkness.

"Be careful, mates!" Chum called with both fins cupped to the side of his mouth.

"We've got to help them!" Anchor shouted. He realized now that they were gone and the only way to save them would be by going down there themselves.

"Follow me!" Bruce said, and the three sharks declined down into the cavern once again.

_Meanwhile…_

It was actually a long while before Sebastian and Jetty were found. With the all-encompassing blackness, and little sense of direction, they had no way of knowing which was was which. Even when they looked above, they could see nothing but dark.

"We're lost," Jetty moaned and put her fins to her head.

Sebastian groaned. "As much as I hate to admit it…you're right. I have no idea where we are." And it was more true for him than Jetty realized. Sebastian was out of his element, and being lost on land was difficult enough. He certainly didn't like being lost underwater.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him. She had never been into a deep cavern before, and tried not to panic.

"It's alright, Jetty," Sebastian assured her. "First of all, I think Bruce, Anchor and Chum might be looking for us." Even though he wasn't really sure just which way "up" was, he looked but saw no sign of anything. The blackness was truly disturbing. "So…we ought to stay put, or we might miss them. You know, they could pass this way and we'd, well..."

She gulped loud enough for Sebastian to hear, but she nodded. "You're right. We'll need to stay put."

He was a nervous wreck himself, but he felt that he had to be brave, at least for Jetty. "It's gonna be alright." Reluctantly, he took her fin in his. "Really."

He felt so strange, trying to comfort a shark, but…now, he really didn't think of these creatures as just "sharks." They were his friends.

Jetty held on to his fin. Not a single sound could be heard, save for Sebastian and Jettys' deep breathing. They saw no more lights from any Anglers, heard no noises and found no help. Bruce, Anchor and Chum were still looking for their two lost friends. Their senses were so sharp that they could make out any single vibrational change in the water…but they weren't close enough. Not yet.

"This is frightening," Jetty said.

"It's alright, Jetty," Sebastian assured her. "It could be worse. At least we have each other, right?"

She knew there was no point looking at him, because of the gloom. But she did, and smiled. "Yes. We do have each other. I'm glad I'm not alone."

Sebastian blinked and took a long breath.

The two sharks stayed there, waiting for help to arrive.


	11. A New Perspective

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 11

Bruce, Anchor and Chum kept searching for their lost friends. Even though things were nearly impossible to see, their other senses made up for the lack of vision.

"Anything come up, Brucie?" Chum asked in a worried tone.

Bruce waited a moment before answering. "Not a thing, mate. But we 'ave to keep looking."

"'Ey!" Anchor stopped and put a fin on both his friends to stop them. "I think I'm getting something!"

They crowded closer together. None of them spoke for a while. "I'm getting it too!" Chum exclaimed.

"Come on!" Bruce said urgently, "S'gotta be this way!" Anchor and Chum quickly followed after him.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the darkness, Jetty raised her head in a rush. "Sebastian!" she poked him gently, "I think they've found us!"

He laid his fin on hers. "How do you know?"

Despite the fact that neither of them couldn't even see their fins in front of their faces, Jetty gave Sebastian a befuddled look. "What do you mean? Can't you sense them?"

"Sense them?" the poor shark was so flustered at having been lost in a dark cavern that he forgot to keep himself under cover. "Oh, yes! Yes, I can!" He took a deep breath. "I think they're getting closer…"

"Yeah, so do I!" she added cheerfully. "I believe we're getting out of 'ere!"

Sebastian actually laughed. "I believe you're right!" To his surprise, Sebastian felt someone grab hold of him gently, but then he realized it was only Jetty. She gave him a hug.

"Thanks for being a good friend," she said, "I'm glad that I joined your guys' club."

Sebastian felt a little nervous, but returned her hug nevertheless. "Well, I'm glad to be there for you," he said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Oh, they're here!" she said suddenly and let go of him. "Bruce! Anchor! Chum?"

"That you, Jet?" came a distant voice.

"It's Chum!" said Sebastian. "We're down here guys!" He started waving but stopped, embarrassed, when he forgot that even they wouldn't be able to see.

"We're coming you two!' Bruce called. Their voices were nearer now.

When eventually Bruce, Anchor and Chum came close enough, Sebastian could actually feel the vibrations given off the water from them.

"You guys alright?" Anchor asked.

"We are now, Anchor," Jetty said, "I thought you all'd never find us!"

"Aw well that's putting low!" Chum said, "We know these caverns like the back of our fins! Ow!" He felt something sting the side of his left fin. "What was that?" He asked and started rubbing the spot where he was stung.

A tiny little light appeared a few feet away from where Chum was stung.

"Uh-oh, jellies." Anchor said.

"C'mon mates," Bruce said, "Follow me!"

Together, the four sharks swam out of the cavern and eventually made their way home.

_Later…_

"Wow," Sebastian said. He was swimming in circles around the ship and musing over the days previous events. "Talk about adventure! I've never done anything so exciting in all my life!"

Chum traced a fin across his brow. "We thought we scared you for a second there, mate."

Sebastian let out a chuckle. Bruce smiled, somewhat nervously but glad that Sebastian got a thrill out of his experience. Anchor grinned and listened appreciatively at his friends' description.

"And then we stop and we're all lost, and we don't know where to go, or whether up was down, or -" Sebastian rambled on.

Jetty laughed at her new friends' enthusiasm. She swam off a little to the right, where an old, rusty sink was and settled herself there. She watched the tiger shark with amusement, and suddenly caught herself looking at no one but him. She blinked and shook her head.

'Daydreaming,' she thought, and actually believed herself. She was glad to be out of the cavern, even though, to hear Sebastian tell about it, it was a little thrilling to be down there. Jetty was glad to be with him. He was such a nice shark.

"Hey, Jetty!" Sebastian called her. She looked up quickly, escaping from her thoughts. "Come over and tell these guys your version of the story!"

She cleared her throat. "Well, alright." She swam up next to Sebastian. "After we fell way down into the current, there wasn't a thing t'see by then. Everywhere you looked, complete darkness! You couldn't see your fin in front of your face! Anyway, we swam about for a while, and we weren't sure at all where to go. Sebastian 'ere suggested we stay put, that way if you guys came looking' for us, we wouldn't be gone. So then…"

Bruce, Anchor and Chum loved stories, and this was a delight for theme to hear such an exciting one. The last story they heard that was just as interesting, if not more, was the one Marlin told them about rescuing Nemo.

"…But Sebastian was a big 'elp. If it weren't for him, I…don't know what I would've done." She looked at him gratefully. He bowed his head in humility.

Anchor observed them, and mused, "Exactly 'ow 'close' did you two get, eh?" He tried to hide his laughter, but to no avail.

Sebastian glared at Anchor. Chum tried to brighten things up.

"'Ey now, Anchor, there's really…no need…to make…fun of them!" He burst out laughing as well.

Sebastian shrugged, "What's so funny about this?"

Bruce giggled a little and rolled his eyes, a large grin on his face. "Don't mind them, mates! They can't resist poking fun every now and then." He giggled again.

Jetty blushed. "'Ey, he was awfully encouraging down there you know!"

"We're sorry, mates," Anchor said, easing his laughter. "You know we were only joking!"

Sebastian couldn't keep his frown any longer. "I know." He smiled at Anchor and Chum. He never could bring himself to be angry at the two for so long - they had very disarming personalities…if you weren't a fish, that is.

Bruce smiled, looking around at everyones' good humor. Jetty smiled too, but a bit uneasily. Anchor and Chum were still taking breaths from their laughter.

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Jetty asked, trying to get on a different subject.

"Well, we could always go out 'an see what we can find," Chum suggested after catching his breath.

"Sounds good to me," Bruce said.

Anchor nodded and looked at Sebastian and Jetty. "We're in!" they said together, then chuckled.

"Right then! Tomorrow it is! 'Ow 'bout we get a little something to eat now?" Bruce offered.

"That sounds good, too," Sebastian said and made his way towards the exit from the ship. The others followed, Jetty came last.

She kept her eye on Sebastian as he left. Before he was out of sight, he turned and waved for her to come, with a smile on his face. She looked a little surprised for a second when he waved to her, but she waved back and returned an edgy grin. She slowly swam out of the large hole, and sighed.

'He is wonderful.'


	12. Before the Storm

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 12

It had now been two years since Sebastians' transformation. One year and twenty-two months ago, he had met Jetty.

Jetty had a rough time adjusting to life without fish, but about a month later after she joined and after all the adventures that the four sharks went on, she came to appreciate the lives of fish a great deal more than she had before she joined the F.E.A.

It was a common misconception among sharks that fish did not have feelings. Most sharks believed them to be nothing more than a food source, and this was exactly the thing that the F.E.A. was trying to chance - not necessarily other sharks' points of view, but their own.

Sebastian had never betrayed his secret once. There were minor suspicions, of course, but everyone else shrugged it off as a mere headache or side effects of Sebastian's fake "bump to the 'ead." Still, every now and then Sebastian got time to think to himself, and he felt ever guiltier about not telling the truth. He considered Bruce, Anchor and Chum his true friends. Jetty was a good friend to him as well. Sure, the tiger shark had friends on land, but they were never as close to him as his new non-human friends, strange as it may be.

Poor Sebastian was constantly in a mix of emotions. On the one fin, he learned to love the ocean with all his heart, and he loved being part of the F.E.A., he loved hanging out with his friends, and he loved the times they spent together, whether it was eating kelp and clear-weed or out exploring unknown places. But on the other fin, he could never get his family off of his mind. The thought of his parents believing he was dead just killed him. He wanted so much to let them know that he was alright. But, even if he did find them, which was already near to impossible, he wouldn't be able to speak to them. Not in his shark body.

The need for help prompted Sebastian, several times, to tell his friends the truth and ask for their assistance. And each time, he faltered. Bruce swam up to him one day.

"'Ey there, 'Bastian. You're looking a little green around the gills. Feelin' alright?"

He didn't meet Bruces' eyes. "Well, yeah. Just a little tired is all."

Chum came out of one of the empty rooms and stopped when he saw Sebastian. "You alright there, 'Bastian?" he asked.

"Guys," Sebastian started, "what would you do, hypothetically, if your parents thought you were dead…and there wasn't any way of telling them?"

Bruce and Chum exchanged glances. Bruce didn't even flinch at the mention of 'parents,' which was usually a rather sensitive topic for him.

"Well…" Chum began, putting a fin to his mouth in thought. "I don't see 'ow I _wouldn't_ be able to find 'em." He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Well, let's say you just didn't know where they were."

Chum surprised Sebastian by laughing. "That's easy, mate! I'd go an' look for 'em!"

"But…all throughout the ocean? ...Never mind, I have a better question. Say you were somehow, magically, turned into a fish and you had no way of turning back into a shark. How would you handle that?"

Bruce blinked, his eyes slightly wide with puzzlement, but Chum said, "Turned into a fish? Not quite sure about that one, but I'd still be eating kelp!" He exclaimed, causing him and Bruce to laugh.

Sebastian laughed too. No matter how he felt, these guys could always lift his mood.

"Ah well. You guys always make me laugh." He chuckled.

Anchor swam through the large entrance hole. "'Ello everyone!" He greeted.

"Hi Anchor," Sebastian smiled. "How's it going?"

"Top notch, 'Bastian my friend! Say, 'as Jet ever been to the surface?"

"No. I asked her one time, and she said she hasn't. Kinda surprising if you ask me."

"Right-o! What do you say we take 'er there?"

Sebastian shrugged and smiled. "Sounds good to me! Let me go ask her." He swam off to find Jetty.

"Why the surface, mate?" Chum asked Anchor.

He gave a shrug as well. "Thought it'd be interesting."

"Alright," Sebastian's voice came, "She wants to go!"

Jetty came swimming out into the main room with Sebastian. Jetty nodded. "Sounds like fun," she said.

"Alright, mates!" Anchor said and did a back flip. "Let's go!"

Sebastian followed right away. He knew there was a very small risk in going to the surface, lest anyone ever spotted him. But the ocean was a sharks' home, not a humans' - despite them constantly trying to make a business of it.

Sebastian loved going to the surface, because it was the little bit he got to see of the life he once knew. It took a while for them to get there. Fish of all sorts were swimming about. A moray eel peeked its' snake-like head out of a cave. Deeper down below, a sting ray floated gracefully along with the current. Sebastian always thought it looked like they were flying. All these creatures scattered further away at the approach of the four sharks. Sebastian had gotten used to this.

They were now a mere several feet away from the air and the sun. Sebastian tingled with excitement. 'Here goes,' he thought. "Well Jetty," he said aloud, "first time to the surface, eh?"

"My first time alright," she gave a hollow laugh.

"Not to worry. It's great fun. Watch me." He scooted back a ways, and then, in a sudden swift motion, he leapt out of the water, higher than he had ever gone before. Jetty watched him with slight amazement.

"Say, 'e's not bad, is he?" she said.

Bruce laughed. "'E's got a talent for that, 'e 'as."

She thought it looked like fun. When Sebastian splashed back into the water, she decided to try. "Give it a go, Jet!" Anchor called.

She laughed at the encouragement, and gave herself a little boost before completely rocketing out into the air. The brightness of the sun made her body shine. The wind on her face felt so foreign to her, but she enjoyed every moment of it. She crashed down into the ocean and waited a minute before reacting.

"…Wow! That was…thrilling!" She beamed.

Chum smiled and Anchor clapped his fins. "Knew you'd love it, Jet!" he said. Sebastian was smiling as well.

"It _is_ something, isn't it?"

"You bet it is!"

Bruce grinned and looked up at the surface. Then he looked back down to the dark bottom of the sea.

"Did you see anything up there?" Chum asked Jetty.

"Nothing but the sky and the sun. And 'ow bright it was! I could 'ardly open my eyes."

"I could never look at it for more than two seconds," Sebastian said, "I mean, for all the times I have taken a leap out of the water."

"We ought to do this more often," Jetty suggested. "It's great fun!"

A sudden thought came into Sebastians' mind. "Hey Jetty?" he asked. "If you don't mind my asking…what were your parents like?"

She turned to him. There was a soft look in her eyes. "They were always patient with me. My mom taught me 'ow to catch my first fish, eh…" she hesitated, "but thankfully, I've learned to treat fish with a little more respect. Anyway, my father used to take me out into the ocean to go exploring, just for fun," she nodded with a smile.

Sebastian made a small noise. "Sounds a lot like my parents."


	13. Hurricane

**Note**: This chapter is kind of a different outlook on things, but you'll like. XD

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 13

Allen, Sebastians' father, was sitting at his desk, head in hands. He hadn't had much sleep ever since his son went missing years ago. He kept hiring investigators, sent out search parties, questioners, rewards and the like so he could find Sebastian. It was even reported on the news that the "son of a scientist" had gone missing, no trace of him found.

Allen let out a long sigh and picked up another ringing phone.

"Yes…anything?" He sighed and pounded his fist on the table. "Keep trying then! …Alright. Alright, bye." He hung up and went over to Sebastians' mother, Eliza. She was just as worried as her husband was and did anything she could to help him in finding their son. He sat down next to her.

"Where could he have gone?" she asked after a few minutes of pained silence.

Even though it had been two years, they hadn't given up on finding him. They couldn't quite explain what it was that kept them going.

He shook his head and rubbed his hand against his face. "I can't possibly imagine, Eliza. It doesn't make any sense, it, it just -" she put her hand on his to keep him from despairing, though she clearly felt the same way.

"We will find him. We're not going to give up." She put her arm around him.

_Meanwhile…_

"You guys!" Sebastian called to Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty. They all stopped and turned to Sebastian.

"What is it, mate?" Chum asked.

Sebastian swam closer to them all. His nerves were flustered and his breathing grew fast. "I need to tell you all something very important," he began, struggling with the right words to say. "Listen…I…" he inhaled.

"What is it, 'Bastian?" Anchor asked. Bruce blinked curiously.

"Alright, y'know…I can't think of any right way to say this, so…I'm just going to tell you all…" he didn't speak for the longest time. The others just waited, wondering what in all of the ocean it was that Sebastian was trying to tell them.

"Bruce," Sebastian began, "Anchor, Chum…Jetty…I'm-I'm not really a shark."

His heart was racing twice as fast after he made his confession. He tried to swallow, but his throat constricted.

Jetty was the first to speak up. "_What_?" her voice was barely above a whisper, but then she started laughing. "Course you are, 'Bastian! What else would you be?"

Sebastian wasn't surprised by her reaction. Perhaps it was too much to hope they'd believe such a tall tale - sometimes _he_ still had trouble believing it, even though it had been a long time. "No. No, I'm not a shark at all, don't you see?"

"Well yeah, we see, mate!" Anchor said, "You're a tiger shark." He smiled reassuringly.

Sebastian held a strained expression. "I know I look like one, but it's not what you think. At _all_."

"Sebastian," Jetty said swimming closer to him. She didn't believe what he was saying, but he could see a hint of panic in her eyes, "Why are you saying this?"

The poor tiger shark shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Sure that bump on your 'ead wasn't permanent?" Bruce asked.

"Let me tell you something," Sebastian said. "Do you remember when you three first met me?" He looked past Jetty to Bruce, Anchor and Chum.

"Course we do," Chum said.

"And you remember how scared I was?" Before they could answer, he swam closer to them. "You remember when I first jumped out of the water, and how I couldn't tell there was a boat nearby? And remember when I told you I wasn't a big fish-eater? Do you remember that?"

Bruce put a fin on his mouth. Anchor and Chum glanced at each other. Jetty didn't take her eyes off of Sebastian.

Suddenly, Bruce's eyes grew wide. "You don't mean to tell me -"

"Yes," Sebastian finished, a worried expression on his face. He had never seen his friends so shocked before. Maybe he had done the wrong thing.

"No…" Jetty said, just barely breaking the silence. "You can't be! You're a shark! _Look _at you!" She gestured voilently at Sebastian.

"I can explain, really I can!" Sebastian said in a desperate attempt to calm his friends down.

"Please _do_!" Jetty said.

Sebastian moaned and took a large gulp. "Alright. You see, my father works for this man who's...who's a scientist and...look, it's a really long story! He turned me into a shark with chemicals he was going to conduct for an experiment, alright?" He took a deep breath and held his head in his fins. He turned away.

Bruce didn't speak. Instead, he only stared at Sebastian as if he had three eyes. Chums' expression was no less astounded. Was their friend telling the truth, or was he just crazy? He glanced once at Bruce, but he found no solace. Anchor stared at Sebastian with bitter pain, as if wanting to believe it was a lie, but not having enough evidence to contradict otherwise. Jetty shook her head slowly, her face growing sadder by the moment. No one knew what to do, or say.

"I'm sorry," Sebastian said after what seemed like an eternity of waiting uneasily for something to say. "I _am _sorry...all of you. I just, I mean...I didn't want to lie. I was afraid if I did, you all would..." he faltered and shook his head again. "I don't know _what _I was afriad of..."

"I can't believe what I'm 'earing," Jetty said, just barely above a whisper.

He faced her, but did not meet her eyes.

"Sebastian!" She said, working herself up. "Do you realize that...that...that..." she stuttered. Sebastians' explanation was accurate. He _was _a human. "You were my _friend_!" She screeched.

"'Bastian," Chum said cautiously, "Look, mate...you might not be a shark and all but I 'ave a 'ard time believing -"

"N-no, it is true," Sebastian said sympathetically. "Can you guys forgive me? Please? I-I don't know if I'll ever be a human again...so technically right now, I _am _a shark!" He gave an empty smile in an effort to maybe cheer them all up, but it didn't work. When he got no response, he said, "Bruce...Anchor...Chum...Jetty...I will probably be living like this for the rest of my life..."

Jetty inhaled sharply and swam away, fast. No one but Sebastian watched her go.

Despite the situation, Anchor spoke up, "She liked you, mate. Prob'ly more than you know."

Sebastian blinked. "What do you mean?" He looked from Anchor to Chum, and then Bruce.

"Well...I believe you might 'ave been more than a friend to 'er...if you know what I mean," Chum said, not meeting Sebastians' eyes and fidgeting with his fins.

Sebastians' eyes widened, if only for a moment. He then looked down at the shady ocean floor. "I always suspected it, I guess...I mean, I like her a lot too, but..."

The clear-weed and kelp swayed ever so lightly in the peaceful current of the ocean, oblivious to the problems around them. A small group of fish swam far below the four sharks, apparently either not noticing or not caring that they were there.


	14. Sorting Matters

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 14

"I need to go..." Sebastian said to Bruce, Anchor and Chum. "I...I need to go..." in truth, he didn't really want to leave, but to him, it was better if he left his friends, instead of his friends leaving him.

Bruce swam barely and inch foreword.

"I can't believe it," Chum said. Anchor shook his head in silent agreement. Bruce stayed silent. Sebastian wanted so much to turn around, to come back to his friends and say, 'Look, I'm sorry I lied. Can we start over and still be friends?' but he simply didn't have the courage.

"You don't really believe 'im, do you?" Anchor asked, directed towards both Bruce and Chum.

Both sharks cringed. "It's, eh...'ard to say..." Chum answered when Bruce failed to speak.

Anchor still looked silently shocked. Bruce spoke, "We ought to go and talk to Jet." Chum nodded and swam off with Bruce. Anchor watched the fading form of Sebastian for a moment longer, then followed his friends.

None of them spoke, or so much as glanced at one another. Each of them were drowning in their own thoughts...the only kind of drowning a shark could ever experience. To them it felt as if the entire ocean had turned dark, all the creatures and plant life swaying despairingly to the change that the F.E.A. experienced.

"Where did Jet go?" Chum asked. Anchor raised his head from his churning thoughts.

"She must be down there," Bruce said, pointing his fin towards a very small gully toward a cave.

"'Ow do you figure?" Anchor asked. Chum brought his fin down on Anchors' head, though not too hard.

"Can't you sense 'er, mate?" he shook his head and swam forward towards the cave. "If I 'adn't known any better, I'd say 'Bastian's lack of shark senses passed on t'you."

Anchor rubbed his head and shrugged off Chums' comment. They drew ever closer to the cave, and indeed, there was Jetty, pacing around the small area, chewing on her fin now and then. It was apparent that Bruce, Anchor, and Chum were there, but she gave no sign of recognition.

"What do you three want?" she asked curtly, though not unkindly.

"Eh, Jet, we just came to see if you were...alright..." Chum explained.

She gave a humorless chuckle. "Well I'm not, ok?"

To everyones' surprise, including Jettys', Bruce laughed a bit. He had been so quiet and reserved the whole time, no one expected him to talk, much less laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked, stopping herself to look at Bruce with her dark eyes.

"We figured you weren't ok," Bruce said with a smile. "Do you believe 'Bastian's really not a shark?" He asked, making his sentence straight to the point. Anchor and Chum shot Bruce a semi-surprised look. It took a moment for Jetty to register what Bruce had asked. Not so much that he brought it up out of the blue, but because the shock of Sebastians' news still lingered.

"Well...that's just the thing, Bruce. I don't know. If I knew any better, I wouldn't believe 'im, and with good reason, but...when you think about what he said -"

"We know, Jet," Anchor broke in, swimming further. "Maybe 'Bastian's right!" he said, turning to face all his friends. "Think about it, mates: he doesn't 'ave the characteristics of a shark!"

They all silenced at Anchors' statement, thinking hard and retracing past memories they've had of Sebastians' 'random' quirks. Bruce sensed slight movement in the water, but knew immediately that it was a pod of bottlenose dolphins. He motioned for Anchor and Chum to swim into the cave. Sharks could handle dolphins, but now wasn't the time for an encounter that could potentially turn ugly...besides that being Bruce, Anchor and Chum didn't usually pick fights with other creatures, or sharks for that matter.

Chum spoke up. "It makes sense, alright," he paused, seemingly in mid-sentence. "We got to find 'Bastian!" Bruce raised his head at this. Anchor had been swimming thoughtfully in circles, but stopped when Chum proposed his new idea. Jetty actually smiled a little.

"I agree," she said, "we 'ave to find Sebastian and get this settles...once and for all," she nodded.

"Well let's go, mates!" Bruce said and took off. Anchor, Chum and Jetty were caught off guard and had to scramble after their frantic companion. A mist of sparkling bubbles was the only thing that remained after the company of sharks left. The cave was alone now, with no one to shelter. A large pod of bottlenose dolphins passed by, lifting their noses at the vibrations given off.

Meanwhile...

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong..." the tiger shark, known as Sebastian, was by now very far from his friends at the F.E.A. His mind was numb from beating on himself over Bruce, Anchor, Chum, and even Jetty's reaction to the news. He was feeling tired now, both physically and mentally, so he decided to rest a bit.

The tiger shark swam down into a thick grove of kelp, not minding the faint smell it gave off. In truth, he felt the silky green leaves comforting when they brushed against his rough skin. He held his head in his fins and swayed slowly back and forth.

'This is like a nightmare. Only I can't seem to wake up from it...oh darn it! Everything was going fine until I had to go and tell the truth! Now my friends hate me!' He turned these thoughts over and over in his mind, and then suddenly he laughed heartily, realizing how half of what he believed probably wasn't true at all. He didn't know what his friends thought of him, and telling the truth wasn't necessarily a bad thing...as painful as it was at times. Sebastian's laughter wore off and he gave a shuddering sigh, a strand of kelp blowing away from him. His narrow body seemed to relax a bit then, and he fell victim to the state of tranquility.

It was some time later when he finally snapped out of his trance. He yawned and looked around, in case any unfriendly creature decided he was an easy target. But he was a shark. Sharks didn't often fall under the "easy target" radar.

'I ought to get back and face them,' he thought tiredly. He calmed down much more since he had taken a rest. He knew, very well, that if he hadn't spilled the beans to his friends, the day would probably have been spent cheerfully, like always. Still, Sebastian knew he couldn't hide the truth forever. There was no such thing as a lie as big as his being kept for so long.

The young shark, formerly human, swam foreword slowly. He decided to gaze down at the beautiful ocean entities, taking in every detail. Although it didn't seem like it at the time, Sebastian wanted to etch everything he could from under the ocean...lest he should ever get back to becoming his human self.

In all the time he had spent underwater, he could never see any of the different types of fish up close, save Ace...and even then he didn't get a spectacular view. Fish feared sharks. It was only natural. Fish seemed to flee from everything, but he supposed it was understandable, even if he did mean them no harm.

'Geeze, I hope I didn't loose them,' Sebastian thought, beginning to worry a little. He decided to swim a bit faster. There were about a million places that Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty could be at right now; after all, it was the ocean.

Sebastian swam on for a long time, looking here and there, trying to sense another presence that could come from a shark, but he got nothing. "Hm..." he put his search on hold and thought for a second, 'I ought to go back to the ship...they're bound to be there...or will be soon enough,' he thought as he swam on to a new pursuit.

Later...

The sun never shone underwater. To all of the ocean's inhabitants, the sun was a fairytale; as real to them as dragons were to the upper world.

Sebastian gingerly swam through the entrance hole to the sunken ship, never making a noise. He peeked around the corner of one of the walls still standing.

"Guys?" he called out, feeling that his voice sounded louder than usual. No answer came. 'Darn it...they're probably out somewhere else...' He sighed, partly out of disappointment and partly out of relief. He wanted to talk to Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty, but at the same time, he was nervous to face them.


	15. A Time to Think

**Real As the Sun**

Chapter 15

It had been an hour and a half and still no sign of Bruce, Anchor or Chum. Sebastian had very little hope of Jetty coming back. He was alone in the sunken ship and now, he had time to really stop and think. She did feel strongly for him, perhaps more than just a friend, as Chum had put it. Sebastian stopped himself right then and there. He shook his head.

'No...no!' he thought, 'That's ridiculous. She doesn't understand that I'm a human and she's a shark.' Those thoughts alone frightened him. He shivered. 'She'll just have to understand. I mean...it was never my fault I was mutated into a shark in the first place. No, not at all!'

He didn't need a logical reason to feel guilty. Maybe it was because of Jettys' reaction. Maybe it was because of his friends' reactions. His stomach flip-flopped with the recollection of the events.

'Gosh, I hope they come back soon,' he thought, swimming in a small little circle and feeling rather cold. He rubbed his fins along his sides.

The sea was growing darker by the hour. It had been a tiring day for everyone. The beautifully colored fish outside the boat and near the reefs began to retreat into their homes. Sebastian saw a moray eel pass by, not even noticing the shark. Kelp floated serenely with the current. He almost envied it for the calmness it ensued. The peaceful display did work its charm on Sebastian, though.

He suddenly stopped in mid-swim. His senses heightened, and already he knew what it was before he saw it. An eerie. dim shape came into view not a league away. Sebastian's heart leaped. It had a tall, foreboding dorsal fin and pointy, triangular fins.

"Bruce?" Sebastian ventured. He received no answer, but the shark came closer and, indeed, it was Bruce the great white. "Bruce!" he called and even blushed a little, having almost called his friend 'Brucie,' - the nickname that only Anchor and Chum ever used for him.

"'Bastian?" Bruce inquired.

"Bruce! It's...I'm here, it's me!"

Bruce paused in front of Sebastian for a moment. "Where 'ave you been, mate?" he exclaimed.

"Well first, I had to just...you know, get a little time to myself and...after that I was kinda looking for you, Anchor and Chum and..."

"We were searching for you," Bruce said, calming down a bit. He then motioned behind him as Anchor and Chum swam up. "We all 'ave."

Anchor and Chum swam next to Bruce. "There you are!" Anchor cried.

"'Bastian!" Chum said, "So 'ere've you been...!"

"Gosh, I'm sorry guys," Sebastian moaned and buried his head in his fins. "I shouldn't have run - _swam _- off like that. But -"

"Ah pay no mind now, mate," Chum insisted with a calm expression and outstretching his fin, "so you were a human, so what?" He laughed and looked to Anchor and Bruce.

"Chum's right, Bastian! You're not a human anymore anyhow, you're...a shark!" Anchor insisted with an awkward laugh that did everything but cover up his uneasiness.

Sebastian looked reassured for just a second. He looked down to the mossy, wet floorboards of the wrecked ship, pretending to be interested in something else.

"Cheer up, mate," Bruce said in his deep voice.

"Listen," Sebastian said, "I want to come down to the point." He paddled his fins a little to turn and face the only true friends he had ever known. "You guys have been the best of friends. In fact...you all are more friends that I could have ever hoped for. But the thing is, I honestly don't think I'm ever going to become...well...my old self again." He waited for a long time before speaking again. "I want to learn to love it here, in the ocean. I want to belong here, and I want to make this place my home." He stopped and waited to see their reactions.

Bruce exchanged glances with Anchor and Chum.

"Well," Anchor spoke, "you might 'ave been human and all but...thing is, you're a shark now. You already do belong 'ere." He grinned, teeth glimmering.

"Anchor's right," Chum put in.

"I know. You're all right. There's just..." he faltered, and it seemed for a minute as if he were in pain, "...just one thing. My parents -"

Chum gasped. "'Is parents!" He cried, "He still 'as 'is parents!" He clung onto Anchor, giving the Hammerhead a rough shake.

"Easy there, mate!" Bruce said, turning to Chum.

"Guys look, if there's...any way at all that I could possibly contact -"

"No, you don't want to go trampling up to your parents as a shark and giving them a 'eartfelt goodbye, believe me." Anchor put in while holding his head in his fins after Chums' frantic shake.

Sebastian looked sorrowful. "I can't let them wonder where I am for the rest of my life." He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

Bruce bore a sad expression and gave everyone a sorrowful look. He knew what it was like not to have the care of a parent. "Listen, mate," he said to Sebastian, "I eh...I know what it's like when your parents aren't there for you, but...there's not much we can do about it."

The tiger shark met the eyes of Bruce with distress, but he was grateful that he wasn't alone in his predicament.

"I need to think on this," Sebastian said.

"'Ave at it, 'Bastian. We're still your friends." He waved a fin and exited the sunken ship with Anchor and Chum, who also gave Sebastian waves of encouragement.

When they were gone for sure, he grinned to himself and sighed. And then, as if an invisible hand had seized his physical form, he fell into a deep sleep. If he had stayed awake only moments longer, he would have heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"-stian? Sebastian?"

It was Jetty. She hadn't decided to look for Sebastian for quite some time, but now that she did find him, he was fast asleep, looking so calm and serene. She found it harder to be angry with him when he looked so...well, alone and comfortable.

'Oh Sebastian,' she thought, half hopelessly, half admiringly.

The mako let herself float gently down to the floor, into her own dreamless slumber.


	16. Realization

Note: I just want to thank everyone for the reviews! I love you guys! 3 Also, this chapter mainly focuses on Sebastian's parents, and I know you all are wanting to read a Finding Nemo fic, not an OC fic! Please bare with me for one tiny chapter!

JC: Actually, I know very little about Street Sharks (though I remember seeing it once when I was younger.) Coincidence, maybe? "Real As the Sun" just kinda came to mind, and I thought it would be a good story to write, lol. XD I didn't think about including Sebastian's parents at first, but I wanted to make the story realistic, so I decided to add them.

Again, thanks for the reviews! .

Real As the Sun

Chapter 16

Allen, Sebastian's father, raised his head from the retreat of his arms and placed his elbows on the table. He gazed out the window in front of him that overlooked a beautiful view of the ocean, now glistening in little wisps with moonlights.

"Eliza," he said, calling Sebastian's mother from the living room.

Eliza hurried into the kitchen, hoping against hope that Allen might have received a call concerning their lost boy. "What is it?" she asked.

Allen turned in the wooden chair he was sitting in to face his wife. His eyes stared straight through her. "I think I might know where Sebastian is."

"You..._what_?" she breathed.

Allen stood up, the chair made a groaning noise on the floor as he pushed it aside. "I'm such an idiot; I can't _believe_ I didn't realize this before!" He pounded his head. Eliza walked over to him.

"Moriarty," Allen said, "it was _him_, I know it was!"

"Allen, _what_ are you talking about?" she said frantically, following his pacing like a lost puppy looking for a new owner.

"Eliza, I've told you about Moriarty, the scientist I've been working with for quite some time? He proposed genetic experimenting with marine animals and..." Allen faltered here.

"Go on," Eliza gently pushed.

"...And well, I made a fool out of him during a public speech of ours, because I just _knew_ his idea was ludicrous," he made a face, "and he got mad...he got really mad. He pushed himself away from me, and from the rest of the lab members. Eliza," he took his wife's shoulders in his hands, "he kidnapped our son and I'm thinking he used him for one of his experiments, to get back at _me_."

Eliza dropped the cup she had been cleaning earlier. It shattered to the ground noisily and broke into large, sharp pieces. Neither Allen nor Eliza gave any recognition of it. Neither of them spoke. The sound of the surf crashing onto the wet sound outside seemed louder than ever before, and to anyone else, the sound would have been soothing.

Eliza clasped her hand to her mouth, as if holding in what air she had in her lungs. She swallowed, "Allen..."

He didn't answer. "Allen!" she said again. He looked at her. "What are we going to do?"

Allen sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "_I_ need to find Moriarty."

"And then what? What are you going to do from there?" she asked, as if his statement made absolutely no sense.

"I'll make him tell me where Sebastian is."

Eliza hesitated before speaking again. "It might be dangerous..."

"Dangerous?"

"If that _man_ is crazy enough to-to kidnap our _son_ like that, he's going to be crazy enough to threaten you if you push him too hard!"

"Eliza...this is our son we're talking about!" he walked over to her and gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I _know_ that, Allen!" she said briskly, "you just don't want to act too quickly or too rash. God knows I want to find him as much as you do, but we have to be intelligent about this."

She took a breath and Allen folded his arms. Eliza laid her hand on her forehead, feeling very tired but unable to sit down. She stole a glance at her husband.

"Is he dangerous, Moriarty I mean?"

"He must be. I'm _sure_ he is."

"Then there's no time to lose," Eliza dashed out of the kitchen and, grabbing a jacket from the couch, sprinted out the front door of their house. Allen called her name once and quickly followed.

__

Meanwhile...

'It's so...so here, so...above water,' Sebastian thought, his shark face skimming the surface of the ocean.

It hadn't occurred to him until later that he was lost when he came to the surface and really had no idea where he was. It was night though, and Sebastian was all alone. The moon came in shimmering patches on the glassy surface of the water and there was little wind in the air, save for small gusts every now and then that made Sebastian's skin tingle.

He observed the beauty of the night with silent satisfaction, and wondered if his parents could see the same thing, or what they _could_ possibly be doing at that moment. Sleeping? No, not likely...they were probably looking for him, one way or another.

'This is a dream,' he thought. And certainly he felt it _was_ a dream. There was no way he could really be a shark, there was no way that normal sharks had the capability to converse like humans did, and there was _certainly _no way that...he actually loved living in the ocean as if it were his home.

He thought of the first day, so, so long ago, that he had come to meet Bruce, Anchor and Chum. Sebastian apprehended that if he had never met the three sharks, he might not have survived his transformation, due to grief or shock. Actually, the F.E.A. made the whole experience of being a shark fun. And the members were vegetarians!

Sebastian laughed. 'Those guys,' he thought, 'guy, they're the greatest.' He slunk back underwater and observed the dark sky from down below. 'I didn't know sharks could be like that,' he added after a minute.

"Sebastian?"

"JETTY!" Sebastian turned around and gasped, startled by Jetty's approach. "You scared me," he breathed.

"Eheh, sorry 'bout that," she swam up to him, "I eh...just wanted to apologize for my outburst the other day. Your news was a bit of a shock," she chuckled a bit uneasily. Sebastian gave a lop-sided half-hearted smile.

"Well I'm sorry I lied then. I mean," she rested his head in his fins, as he did so often when nervous or confused, "I suppose I didn't exactly _lie_, but-"

"It doesn't matter," she cut in. "Listen, I don't know 'ow this 'appened to you but..." she inhaled and seemed to be on the verge of tears. Sebastian looked down nervously. The ocean floor didn't even show in the dark blanket that was night.

"...'ow could you 'ave been human? I was your _friend_! Wasn't I?" She looked grievous.

"I _hope_ we can still be friends!" Sebastian said straightaway, "Honestly Jetty, I don't know if I'm ever going to be human again. I'm a _shark_ now!" He said, remembering Anchor's words which, technically, were all too true.

"Alright...alright..." she took a deep breath, as did Sebastian. "Sebastian?"

"Yeah?"

She took his fin. "Let's go 'ome...?" Sebastian nodded.

'_Home_...'


	17. Solving Matters

Note: Guys, I'm SO sorry it's taken me centuries to update! So so so sorry! You all know what it's like to be on hold for a while, but anyway, I'm not gonna blabber, cause I know you've been waiting for the next chapter I could have so easily written. Hope you still enjoy them!

Real As the Sun

It was late at night, but Sebastian hardly felt the impact that time had on him than it would have had if he were human. The waters at night were even more supernatural than they were at day. Fish of strange appearances came out from mossy rocks where they wouldn't have appeared during day. Some of them were transparent, and Sebastian could actually see through their bodies and skeletons. He had heard of such things before, from his father, but seeing them eye-to-eye gave him the chills. The eyes of the fishes were what peeved him most though...peeved and fascinated. They were huge, bulbous things that seemed to be searching through the dark waters for something they could not find. It made Sebastian sick just looking at them.

'Nasty and vile looking,' he thought. "Come on," he said out loud to Jetty, who was swimming some ways in front of him, "let's hurry and get home."

"Alright." They paddled their slender fins faster to make speed, soon passing the school of eerie fish. But there were eels too.

These didn't bother Sebastian like the fish did, but he took care to mind his distance and his own business. For a moment, he thought that Jetty, along with Bruce, Anchor and Chum, still didn't know he was a shark; his imagination and wits getting hold of him when he observed the strange night sea creatures. But when he remembered, he aimed to ask Jetty a question.

"Jetty...don't you suppose eels are dangerous around here at night?"

"Eels? Well, eh...I suppose they might be if they wanted to. Mind your distance," she said warningly as a rather large-looking eel glided lazily above the two sharks' heads.

Sebastian tried imagining what he looked like to the eel. He had been a shark for a whole three hundred and sixty-five days, an entire year, and still he forgot, despite the feel of his fins and tail, that he looked like a shark and not a human. To the eel, he probably looked rather long and slender, lifeless eyes scanning the ocean and mouth only just open to reveal a horrible set of teeth. The eel passed over them.

"Jetty?" he ventured again.

"Yeah?"

"Well, you, Bruce, Anchor and Chum kind of...well, actually I swam away from them, but when I left they came to you, right?"

She turned her head to look at him with those eyes that Sebastian felt were so dark and shark-like. "Go on," she nodded.

"Did they uh...say anything about me?" When she didn't answer right away, he added, "It's ok if you can't tell, cause you know, they might not have wanted me to know anything, or..."

"Well basically all they said was that, er..." Sebastian noticed she seemed uneasy about herself, "that you didn't mean to 'urt my feelings and all. And I completely agree with them! I was just a little overwhelmed when you told me." She seemed to rush her last sentence.

Sebastian tried, but he couldn't help himself from smiling. They had stood up for them, even when they knew (and believed!) that he was a two-legged, land-walking human being, not a long-finned, ocean-dwelling tiger shark. They were his friends; they were his true friends.

"They're great!" Sebastian exclaimed, causing Jetty to look at him. "I thought they'd be angry at me! Maybe even try to kill me, but-!"

"Kill? Kill? 'Bastian, why would they try an' do that?" The poor Mako seemed bowled over. Sebastian was quite taken aback by her sudden outburst and replayed what he had just said to make sure he didn't say anything else offensive.

"W-well...you know, they're...sharks. They kill things, I was afraid they'd kill me if they ever found out-"

"Sebastian!" Jetty stopped swimming; oblivious to the dark all around them, and stared Sebastian down with all her feeling, "Sebastian," she said again, "because we're sharks doesn't mean we just...kill things outright! Is that what you humans believe about us?"

Despite his shame, Sebastian answered honestly. "Mm... most of us do, Jetty. There are very few humans on Earth who sympathize with sharks, you see." He sounded as if he were trying to make a close friend cope with the death of a loved one.

"But that doesn't make it a bit true, whatever you humans believe!"

"Look, I'm just telling you the truth, about humans I mean! It's not my fault they don't like you guys, I mean..."

Jetty shook her head. Sebastian didn't know whether to feel angry with her, or sorry for her. "Look, mate," she said and put her fins on her head, "I eh, didn't mean t'burst out on you like that, it's just...well, it seems as though we sharks aren't liked by anybody, d'you hear me? When I was a pup," her and Sebastian started on their way home again, "I didn't live near any sharks, so I 'ad no friends. All the fish I ever met, I ate."

Sebastian knew now that he sympathized with Jetty. "I should be the one saying sorry."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter." But he knew it did.

Meanwhile...

Slam! Slam! Slam! "Where is he?" Eliza pounded on Moriarty's door, not caring that it was nearly 12:30 at night.

"Eliza!" Allen caught up with her. His footsteps made soft padding noises on the sandy ground, "Dear, hold up, will you?" She turned to face him, but before either of them could utter a word, a window was illuminated by light, and the door opened.

Moriarty was standing there, looking rather groggy and tired. His eyes widened only slightly when he recognized the two people at his front door. "Allen? Eliza?"

The two parents could tell that the man was far from awake. Eliza didn't waste a moment. She went up the two wooden steps to his door and took the baffled scientist by the collar of his nightshirt.

"Now YOU listen to ME, you no good, lousy-!"

Allen took her hand and made her release Moriarty from her clutches. "We need to be logical about this," he said urgently in her ear. She was too angry to come up with a retort or defense for her actions, so she let Allen do the talking.

"Moriarty," he addressed the man, who was now fully awake, "where is our son?" he asked firmly.

The scientist stared at the two of them for a minute, but then a knowing smile spread across his handsome features. "Ahh...I wondered when you were going to trace me down, Allen."

"Answer him!" Eliza cried.

Moriarty put one hand up in defense. "Now, now...there's no need to worry. I know exactly where your son is. Here," he stepped aside, "why don't you come in?"

"We aren't here for idle chatter you fool," Allen said calmly, though it was clear his patience was on edge.

"I insist. I'll let you know all about your son. Or should I say...shark." 


	18. A Problem Unsolved

Note: Once again, I'm sorry that I'm such a slug when it comes to updating. I'm working on three stories at once, so you can see why it'd be a little difficult. ;

Real As the Sun

Chapter 18

Bruce swam around in circles in one of the empty rooms in the forsaken ship. Now and then he'd place a fin to his mouth in deep thought. He swam so gracefully and expertly that not a single bubble ever obscured from his movements.

Chum swam into view near the door. "'Ey, Brucie! 'Ow's the slogan coming?"

"Still can't think of one," Bruce replied, shaking his head.

At that moment, Anchor swam in and announced, "'Bastian and Jetty are back!"

"Well it's about time!" Chum said and swam off with Bruce and Anchor to meet them.

Sebastian and Jetty were glad to be back at the F.E.A. hangout. It didn't matter if they were all sharks; the ocean was an eerie place at night, and so dark.

"So've you two made up now?" Anchor inquired, somewhat teasingly.

"As a matter of fact, we have," Sebastian replied, giving Anchor a playful shove. "But there's still one issue that I know I can't live with."

Anchor and Chum looked at each other and Jetty tilted her head to the side, but Bruce guessed the answer before any of them. "It's about your parents, isn't it mate?" he asked.

"Yes. Two things particularly bother me. One is that they have no idea where I am, or _what_ I am..." he added quietly, "and the other is that I have absolutely no way of contacting them or telling them or..." he groaned, "It's like I'm lost to them forever."

Anchor, Chum and Jetty sympathized with Sebastian, but Bruce was the only one who _understood_ it. Chum swam over to the fretted tiger shark. "Don't give up so easy now, mate. There 'as to be a way to let your parents know what's been 'appening."

Sebastian looked at him. "_I_ of all people shouldn't be the one to give up so easily, but there's just _no_ way..."

"Now you listen 'ere, 'Bastian," Bruce said with a determined look on his face, "We'll find a way to see your parents, whether they recognize you or not! Right mates?" He grinned.

"Why sure we will, 'Bastian!" Anchor said.

"You bet!" Chum put in.

Jetty smiled. "Count me in!"

X X X X X X

"Shark!" Eliza shrieked, "What do you mean _shark_! What kind of joke is this!" Allen put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Joke?" Moriarty inquired, "Oh no my dear, this is far from a joke." He cleared his throat, "I'm going to be frank with you when I explain, but you see, it was only necessary for me that I proved the point of my scientific breakthrough."

"_Frank_?" Eliza asked, not cooling off one bit. Allen prodded, "Get the _point_ through, Moriarty! WHERE is our son?"

The scientist smiled with the slightest trace of malice. "Your son is most likely residing somewhere in the depths of the ocean. Oh, don't get me wrong!" He said when Eliza clasped a hand to her mouth in disbelief. "I have not _drowned_ or _killed_ him, as you seem to think. He is, and forgive me for being blunt...he is a shark."

"I _knew_ it!" Allen stated and stood up. "You did that to him, you vile, back-stabbing madman!"

"A shark!" Eliza asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Tiger, to be precise." Moriarty said, taking no notice of Allen's insults.

"How on earth are we supposed to find him if he's a shark!" Eliza demanded.

"That would be your problem now, wouldn't it?"

This time it was Allen who took Moriarty by the shirt. "I don't think so," he seethed at the startled man, "we will call the police and have you in prison faster than you can say _galeocerdo cuvier_!"

To Allen's bitter surprise, Moriarty laughed. "So you would send me to the police? And tell me this, Allen...who is going to believe you when you say your son has been turned into a shark? No one! Especially not after you so tried to prove my successful theory wrong in front of hundreds of people...!" There was venom in his voice at the mention of that.

Allen hardly noted this, and continued, "You _will_ help us find Sebastian...and you are not going _anywhere_ until we do!"

"Allen," Eliza said, "what does it matter if we make him help us? _He_ might not be able to find the very shark that...that's our son in the whole ocean!"

"Oh, there _is_ a way..." Moriarty said, "But I have no intention of helping _you two_."

"You will," Allen said, "Or so help me you'll have a _lot_ more to worry about than public humiliation...!"

Moriarty knew that he had the advantage in this situation. He himself knew how to track down the tiger shark that was the son of the other scientist, and all he needed to do was threaten Allen into letting him go, or he would never find his son again. Still, Moriarty was a coward, and easily caved in.

"Very well," he said, "I'll help you find your son."

X X X X X X

"Alright, I might have an idea," Sebastian said one day, while swimming somewhere in the depths of the ocean with Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty. "I can try and locate my parents house from he surface, judging by the point of the sun in the sky and the direction that their house is in."

"But 'Bastian," Anchor said, "eh...what exactly d'you plan on doing if you find your 'ouse?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I don't know, but I don't care. I'm hoping that something might, or will come up when I get there, something that would somehow make them recognize me." Sebastian would stop at nothing to find his parents, but inside, he knew that having faith that they would recognize their son as a shark was a very empty hope. Still, the tiger shark knew that his conscience would never be at rest if he lived the rest of his life in the ocean without seeing his parents one last time.

"Something?" Jetty asked, "Like what?"

"...I don't know..."

"Well, whatever you decide, mate, we're right 'ere with you," Chum said with a toothy grin.

Sebastian smiled.

The air was warm, as usual, and the sun was low in the morning sky. The smell of salt was all through the air. Sebastian was the only one that poked his head out of the water. With a keen eye, he observed the sun and knew it was early morning. Thankfully, it wasn't a cloudy day. "Hmm...my house won't be that hard to find..." he observed his surroundings once more and finally ducked under the soothing water.

Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty were waiting for their friend. "So, where'll it be, mate?" Bruce asked.

"From the direction of the sun, it'd be towards...east." Sebastian nodded.

"Well, whatever he says. Let's go!" Bruce said. Anchor, Chum, Jetty and Sebastian all took off swimming after him.

"'Ey, wait up Brucie!" Chum called as he swam.

X X X X X X

"Whew...'ow do we know if we're getting close to your 'ouse?" Jetty asked Sebastian as they slowed their swimming for a break. They hadn't stopped for quite a long while, and everyone was exhausted.

"I think I'll go up and check on the surface...who know, it might be around." Sebastian dove up to the top before anyone could send him a word of caution.

Bruce meanwhile swam down near the ocean floor to find some type of kelp to eat. Anchor and Chum joined him, along with Jetty, who was still getting used to the taste of kelp on her tongue. She had an easier time adjusting to it than Sebastian did, but then of course, he was a human and had no contact whatsoever with the sea, at least he never did until he had been morphed.

"Sebastian sure is determined," Jetty said, examining a bit of lush, green kelp closely with her eyes.

"It won't bite," Anhcor remarked, noticing Jetty's obvious suspicion with the plant.

"No, but it might 'urt my taste buds," she retorted and took a little nibble.

"Can't say I blame the little fella'," Bruce said, "if I knew where my parents were..." he faltered.

"Aw now, Brucie," Anchor swam over and patted his friend's back. "No need to be gettin' yourself upset now."

"I know, you're right," Bruce answered, calming himself down. "But what do you suppose we ought to do about 'is parents? There'll be no way they can recognize the little guy."

"Nothin' we can do about that," Chum said after swallowing some food, "'Bastian wants to find 'is parents, who are we t'stop 'im?"

"Neverth'less," Jetty added, "I think we should all keep a close watch over 'im. If he wants to find his mom and pop so bad, I don't doubt 'e'd be willing to take drastic measures."

"Agreed then," Anchor said, "We'll all stay close by."


	19. Traveling Miles

Note:

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tinks-belle85- I know I'm kinda slow, but there are slower! XD Don't forget to update your story as well! I might actually have to check yours in person (meaning the long way) and go to to see, cause lately I haven't gotten any story alerts via e-mail, even though some of the stories I have under favorites have been updated.

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Insane Pirate Dragon- Lol, maybe using Moriarty as bait wouldn't be a bad idea. ;-D

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Aqua Aussie- Heh, Anchor and Chum are such teasers, huh? . I'll answer most of your questions in this chapter. I hope you all like it!

Real As the Sun

Chapter 19

Anchor's muscles were sore. His tail fin was bent down and his fins were unmoving. "'Bastian..." he panted, "...d'you think we might...'ave a rest, mate?" He breathed, stopping before Sebastian even answered.

"Fine...alright..." the tiger shark answered, worn out possibly even more than the rest.

"Well it's about time!" Chum exclaimed, despite him feeling out of breath. "We've been swimmin' for hours!"

Bruce didn't look as worn out as the rest, but he was thankful for a break. He gently rubbed a fin above his eye and gazed down at nothing in particular. Jetty huffed and stole a glance towards the surface. The sun was very high in the sky. If the house they were searching for _was_ in the direction that Sebastian said it was, they would all have to cease traveling by nightfall anyway...if the sun were to set and they kept pursuing their course, there was a high chance they might get lost and have to start all over again.

"Well...I can't say I have to stomach to eat anything right now..." Sebastian said.

"Neither 'ave us, mate," Bruce said, looking towards Anchor and Chum. "Shocking, ain't it?" he said with an amused grin.

Sebastian smiled. Bruce could be sensitive at times, but he definitely had a sense of humor about himself.

"Well..." Sebastian said again, casting a quick glance at Jetty, and half afraid to do so, "I wouldn't know, I mean...I don't know very much about...about sharks." He almost expected the four other sharks to jump-start and forget that the tiger shark they were traveling with was human...at least in spirit. He didn't look at Jetty, but he felt a sort of grateful feeling coming from her.

"Humans..." Chum said, "_don't_ think they know everything." He rolled his eyes jokingly and suddenly shot down towards the surface. "Suite your 'ungry selves!" he called, "I'm 'aving what I can get _while_ I can get it!"

There was a pause between each shark. "Come on," Bruce finally said, wanting to keep an eye on his friend. He motioned with his fin, and the others followed close.

Being that the sun was out, the ocean floor was lighter than it was during the night, but not by a long-shot. Everything down there seemed so dim, and dark, and quiet...yet at the same time, the place was teeming with life everywhere. It had been close to one year since Sebastian had entered the ocean, and he never ceased to be amazed.

They found Chum nearby, swimming with an unusual outburst on energy through a forest of kelp. "What took you slugs so long?" he jeered.

"_Does_ look at bit tasty," Anchor said, joining Chum in swimming through the long strands of kelp. He took a bite and swallowed. "Say, it _is_ tasty! Brucie, come over 'ere!"

Bruce, along with Jetty and Sebastian, came up to a strand of kelp. He took as small a bite as he could and gulped. "Never tasted kelp like that," he marveled. Jetty eventually forced herself to at least taste the strange plant. Her bluish skin shone radiantly under the rays of the sun, cut by the thickness of the water.

Sebastian would not try another piece of kelp, as long as he lived. He grew rather bored watching everyone else feed, and he could see no clear-weed around, so he took to swimming in circles near the kelp forest, careful to stay close to his friends.

And...seemingly as if a boiling, gurgling wave had hit him...his senses heightened and he made out the distinct noise of high and low-pitched clicking sounds that were evidently growing louder. Bruce, Anchor, Chum and Jetty seemed to have noticed it too, because they stopped feeding and were still as statues.

Sebastian didn't dare speak. He wanted to, but he was afraid to at the same time. Bruce was the first to, however.

"Down there!" he pointed a fin towards a rocky cave that was densely covered by all sorts of plants. Everyone followed him to the cave and squeezed in before Sebastian could ask what on Earth was going on.

"What is it? What are we hiding from?"

"Killer whales," replied Chum in an oddly calm manner, "they're 'eading this way. Best not to get in their way...'specially when they're 'ungry."

Sebastian gulped. He had completely forgotten that killer whales were a match for almost any shark in the ocean. His mind kept screaming: _But I'm human! I'm human! _Of course...the killer whales wouldn't know that. He'd just be another shark to them.

Through the little cracks in the plants covering the cave, they were all able to peer out into the open water. Nothing showed up for a long time, and Sebastian was beginning to feel that the killer whales might have changed their course. But right then loomed several shadowy shapes a fair distance from the cave. Fear took its grip on Sebastian like an iron fist. Was it possible that he could die that day? What would his parents think? How would his parents _know_?

Soon it became unmistakably apparent that a pod of killer whales were passing by.

"Can't they sense that we're here?" Sebastian asked.

"Course they can...but they won't bother with us, 'less we bother with them," Bruce said.

Sebastian said no more, for fear of attracting the massive creatures attention, even though he knew it wouldn't make any difference, whether he was quiet or not. Wonder and amazement combined with the fear the Sebastian felt upon seeing these creatures. They looked huge, even from his distance.

After a short time, the tail of the last orca disappeared from view, and the ocean seemed to sit still. Slowly and steadily, Bruce peeked out from the cave and swam out into full view. "S'alright everyone!" he said after a minute.

Anchor, Chum and Jetty quickly swam out of the cave as if nothing had happened, but it took Sebastian a fair amount of courage and confidence to leave the cave. He didn't want everyone else to be under the impression that he was afraid, though he knew they would easily understand if they knew.

He was wrong. They noticed his fear like rain in the desert. "Say...somethin' wrong 'Bastian?" Jetty asked.

"You look rather shaken up there," Anchor said.

"Well, it's...just that..."

Everyone waited for him to answer. Chum piped up, "Aw, ye _can't_ tell me you're scared o' those killer whales now, are you?"

Everyone else seemed to pick up. "'Aven't you ever seen them before?" Bruce asked.

"_Eh_...not in the wild," Sebastian managed, feeling more aware of his fear than he would have liked..also a bit embarrassed.

"Aw don't worry 'Bastian," Jetty said and gave him a reassuring pat on the back, "they won't 'arm you."

"I know...I know. It just takes some getting used to," he managed a hollow laugh. A question popped up in his mind, a good questions which he felt important to ask instead of pretending he wasn't wary and still somewhat afraid. "Uh, guys...do you we'd be having problems along the way with..um...bigger creatures?"

"Oh it's a definite possibility, mate!" Anchor called, who was swimming further ahead of the Sebastian and Jetty.

Sebastian wanted to find his parents. He wanted to let them know everything that had happened, and that he _was_ alive, and well. He _would_ convince his parents. He knew there was a way...there _had_ to be, even if he could not communicate with them...there was a way.

Sebastian would find that out in time.

X X X X X X

"And what is _that_ supposed to be for?" demanded Allen. Him, his wife Eliza, and Moriarty were standing on a dock observing the device that Moriarty had produced to catch Sebastian. It looked more like a net attached to a solid metal container than a high-tech device.

"To catch your _son_ of course," Moriarty responded, getting a little impatient with Allen. "He is completely a shark and has _no_ trace, whatsoever of human DNA in him."

"Then how do you plan on finding him?" Eliza asked in a tone that hid anything but anger.

"I have my ways. Explaining them to you wasn't exactly part of our little 'bargain' though, was it?"

"Enough talk," she snapped, "Just get to it!"

Moriarty smirked and slowly turned back to his device, tightening the hinges on the metal container, that obviously hadn't been used in a long time. Allen and Eliza had to resist the urge to pester this mad scientist for answers to their questions...but they knew that it would do more harm than good, and thought it best just to let the man do his work. Still, they both watched him like a hawk to make sure he didn't do anything devious, and it was likely he would.

"Alrighty then!" Moriarty said with mock cheerfulness, "we are ready to go. Allen."

That was the plan. Allen and Moriarty were to go on the boat in search for Allen's shark-son, but Eliza would wait at the house. Allen practically had to put shackles on her hands to convince her to stay, but finally had managed to. He had a gut feeling that one of them should remain at the house...a reason he couldn't explain even if he wanted to, and he felt safer if he were to go with Moriarty.

'For his sake, not Eliza's,' he thought with a short laugh. "Be safe," he murmured to her before giving her a quick hug and heading to the beat. Moriarty was already checking some of the electrical panels and making sure everything was running properly.

"I was going to say the same to you." She said in reply.

X X X X X X

Waves followed closely after the speeding boat and spread like bees after honey across the ocean water. The air was clear and the sun was high. Allen kept his distance from Moriarty, but never strayed his eyes off the scientist for too long. The boat came to a slow halt and Moriarty pulled one of the boat's levers.

"Here we are," he said.

"What do you mean?" Allen asked.

"If my memory serves me right, this is about the place where I dropped your son off."

Allen gritted his teeth together. "_That doesn't help us_."

"Don't be so sure, Allen. It's quite likely that your son remains somewhere in these waters."

Allen looked up. "And if he is...if he is found...you _will_ turn him back into himself..." it wasn't a question, really...but there was a tinge of hope and tense curiosity behind Allen's voice.

Moriarty stopped assembling the "trap" and actually met Allen's gaze. Allen never remembered Moriarty looking more crucial.


	20. The Other Side of Bruce

Note: As you all know, I haven't updated in ages! TT I know, I'm bad. Anyway, I hope this next chapter will suffice. I DO know where I'm going with this, but you know, I haven't been able to find the time to write more of it lately. Hopefully it'll all change. Enjoy:-O

Real As the Sun

Chapter 20

"I'm tired..." Sebastian said as he just barely kept up with the pace set by his shark friends.

Bruce turned around, then looked to Anchor and Chum, signaling them to slow to a halt. Sebastian swam the distance to his friends, grateful for the break.

"You alright there, 'Bastian?" Anchor asked, a little concernedly.

"Fine enough but...I'd feel better if we stopped a while." He sighed, lightly tracing a pointed fin across his brow.

"Gettin' dark," Bruce observed, turning his glassy eyes towards the surface. "We should've stopped an hour ago."

"No wonder I'm so tired."

Jetty swam a little to the side. "Eels'll be gettin' out about now. We best keep on our guard."

Sebastian looked around. Expectantly, an eel loomed out of a dark blotch in the sea and slithered away from the sharks to goodness knows where. Sebastian frowned slightly with discomfort, and he was beginning to feel rather hungry.

"Is there anything to eat nearby? I didn't have anything all morning."

"Well now, small 'arm in looking," Chum said and swam down a ways, "'Course...it bein' dark an' all...just take care not to _clobber _any eel's there, mate!" He called when he was out of ear shot.

Bruce followed suit, along with Anchor and Jetty. Sebastian remained but a moment longer. The sun was nearly set and the water was more still than usual, though the Sea was never still, nor tame to begin with. The tiger shark looked to be suspended in mid-air, with the dark blue color of the water, then shining clear from the reflection of the surface. Someone could have taken Sebastian with a soft hand and pinned him to the sky, for everyone to admire, and one would never have guessed the difference.

"Wait up!" he called, breaking the silence that enveloped him. He launched off like a sleek torpedo until he nearly hit the back of Jetty's tailfin.

"Mind your distance there, 'Bastian," she said with a half-smile.

"Will do," Sebastian replied, feeling a little flustered. His discomfiture disappeared when he spotted a rather small patch of clear weed. 'At last! It's about time!' He thought as he swam down to the patch, almost invisible and blending in with the enveloping darkness of the sea.

"Well there you go, 'Bastian!" Bruce said as he turned around and spotted his tiger friend swallowing some of the plant. "As for ourselves," he exchanged looks with both Anchor and Chum, and motioned toward some undergrowth...that wasn't kelp, but another type of sea weed that the trio found good enough to eat.

"Good spot, Brucie!" Chum called, and was the first to head down to the "food."

Anchor came close by and cleared his throat. "Mind you don't catch any o' this on your hook there, mate." He teased.

"Ah ha ha, remind me to laugh," Chum said in a mock-amused voice. He rolled his eyes and began eating. Bruce's massive shadow appeared behind the hammerhead and the mako, teeth grinning wide and eyes shinning.

"Good thing I 'ave a sharp eye to spot these-" Bruce stopped short.

"Thpot wa Bwuce?" Anchor asked through a mouthful of sea plant. Yet Anchor stopped chewing and locked his eyes onto Bruce's; something wasn't right. Bruce's eyes had completely glazed over into a dark color and, like Anchor, he seemed to be fixated on one thing and one thing alone. "Er...Bruce?" Anchor asked after swallowing his meal. Fear and uncertainty began growing inside the hammerhead shark.

"Uh oh...!" Chum's voice rang out. "Bruce, NO!"

Before Anchor had a chance to compute what was going on, he saw Bruce racing towards what looked like an injured seal.

"NO BRUCIE!" Anchor shouted in unison with Chum.

Sebastian and Jetty both looked up from their late dinners, faces suddenly growing wide with horrible realization.

"Bruce, what are you doing!" Jetty called, probably more confused than distressed. After all, Anchor and Chum were much better acquainted to the habits of Bruce better than Sebastian or Jetty.

"What? What's going on!" Sebastian cried just as Jetty swam off with Anchor and Chum to try and restrain the great white. They arrived just in time to hold him down long enough, until the seal (with much painful effort) clambered away in a daze.

"Brucie, try to control yourself!" Chum managed to say through the effort of restraining the great white.

Sebastian was the only one who didn't come near. He was frightened; even more frightened than when the pod of killer whales had passed them by _days _ago. He had never seen Bruce, his friend, behave like this before. Sebastian knew he ought not to have been surprised by this behavior; it was a stereotypical thing to think among humans, about sharks that is...but Sebastian had known Bruce for more than a year now. The transformation he saw then was alarming to him!

"Bruce what's going on?" He gasped, mostly to himself than to anyone else. Poor Sebastian didn't know what to do. He shook all over, backing away slowly and his eyes were as big as dinner plates.

The bleeding seal was long gone, but Bruce seemed oblivious to that fact and only wanted to sink his teeth into a helpless, bleeding animal. His head thrashed from side to side. Anchor and Chum clung to their fanatical friend and Jetty, having nothing better to do, took hold of Bruce's tail fin. They had all given up on talking the great white out of his reverie some time ago.

Sebastian didn't even think about being useless; his mind was too fixated on the terrifying image before him. He would have been ashamed to admit it later, but his instincts told him to swim away, and _fast_.

However the trembling tiger shark didn't..._couldn't _move. It seemed like hours (though it was probably only several minutes) before Bruce's violent thrashing ceased to gentle swaying and a rather upset and disappointed look upon the great white's face. Bruce blinked once, first at his friends, then at the spot where the seal had once been.

His face suddenly turned despairing and he put his fins to his mouth. "I did it _again_!" he cried, this time covering his eyes. Anchor looked at Chum, and Chum looked at Jetty. No one knew what to say in opposition to Bruce's "fit."

Sebastian kept his distance. His apprehension didn't cease a smidgen, even when Bruce had calmed down. A sudden, terrible feeling came over him at that moment, that he wanted to be a million miles away...no! He wanted to be home. Back _home_. The negative, more pessimistic side of Sebastian yanked at his heartstrings, telling him that he would never be able to go home, and that he would have to spend the remainder of his life in the ocean...the ocean that once seemed to miraculous with the colors, and the life, and the enormity it had to offer, and the exploration! But now, to the ex-human, it felt cold and dark, and unwelcoming.

"'Bastian, you alright?" Jetty gently approached her close friend, seeing that he was clearly in distress. "What's wrong?"

"Jetty!"

"'Bastian, what one Earth's the matter? You're shaking like a jellyfish!" She tilted her head to one side, like a mother examining a child for signs of illness.

"It's just...I mean Bruce, he...he just...!" Sebastian stuttered. He hadn't yet gotten over the terrible scene of a shark in bloodlust; the image was still fresh in his mind.

"_Ooooh _dear...is that what's frightening you so?"

"YES!"

Jetty flinched, making Sebastian a little more aware of his emotional state. "Sorry Jetty, it's only that...ugh!" He put his head in his fins and faced away from her. "How could you..._have you ever seen a bloodthirsty shark_!" Anchor and Chum turned from trying to comfort Bruce, to casting mildly surprised looks at Sebastian. Bruce in turn stared at his friend, though with more hurt than astonishment.

"Course I have, _I _am a shark you silly creature!"

Had Sebastian taken a human form, he would have blushed with embarrassment. "How could you not be affected by something like this? He went completely mad!"

Chum gave Anchor a nervous glance. Bruce nibbled on his fins. Jetty in turn felt as helpless as the others. After witnessing his first blood-thirsty battle from Bruce, getting Sebastian to change his mind about the whole situation would prove more than difficult.

"'Bastian ol' friend, you eh...gotta try to understand, Brucie meant no 'arm at all!" Chum swam up to the frightened tiger, hoping somehow to make amends without a big struggle.

But Sebastian only shook his head and replied, "Why didn't anyone tell me...Bruce, why didn't _you _tell me you could...could still feel hungry for blood!"

"Oh, it's 'opeless, mate!" Bruce burst out crying, making an effort to explain his 'problem' to Sebastian without the tears interfering. "It's been a problem for me ever since I was a pup!" He wiped an eye with his fin, "My mother was always proud o' me cause of it, but my father...my father...!" Poor Bruce was now in hysterics. Anchor rushed over to comfort his friend, giving him reassurances and patting him on the back, which had always made Bruce feel a little better.

Chum, however, swam over to Sebastian with a quiet demeanor that was so uncommon for his nature. "Y'see, mate..." Chum began, a little uneasily, "Brucie's been trying to avoid eatin' fish for almost all 'is life. It weighs down on the big guy pretty 'ard, but 'e means so 'arm y'see. 'E can't 'elp 'imself."

Sebastian sighed, his guilt slowly weighing down on him with every one of Chum's words. He rubbed his head and stared down at the ocean floor. It was then that he noticed it was getting very dark.

"Come on," he said quietly so that Chum and Jetty only _just _heard him, "We should get out of view from unfriendly eyes."


	21. Farewells

**Note**: To my reviewers, I just want to give you all a MAJOR round of applause. Most people would have given up on this story (not that I can't see why ) but you push me to keep at it. You guys all simply ROCK MY WORLD. XD 

_Real As the Sun_

Chapter 21

It has taken Sebastian a while to realize that the silence of his friends was due to his behavior the other day. Bruce has taken the slightest whiff of seal blood and that was enough to send him on a craze; it was the first one of Bruce's that Sebastian has ever witnessed, and it would take him a great deal of time to process the whole situation. Still, the shark-boy didn't want to hurt Bruce's feelings...but what if he happened to cut himself, or nick a fin on a piece of sharp coral?

Sebastian shuddered; he didn't want to think about what would happen. Somewhat sheepishly, he stole a glance behind him, where Bruce and the others were just awaking from their "slumber." Sebastian shook his head; sharks wouldn't sleep...they could only rest. If only he had been more interested in sharks, or listened to his dad's dinner discussions about sharks when they were all seated around the table. This made Sebastian terribly homesick.

He had more than half a mind to go and urge everyone on their way, but realized that it would have been awfully rude. They were the ones going out of their way, miles and miles from home to get him back to his home. Who knows if any other shark, or sea creature for that matter, would have helped him at all? But these four did. The least he could do was wait patiently and allow them to have breakfast.

Bruce yawned and rubbed at his eyes. Chum came back from a short little swim.

"There's no kelp 'ere, but we've got a heap bunch of clear-weed."

"Er that's eh...just fine, Chum!" Anchor said with all-too-obvious enthusiasm.

Chum sagged his head and rolled his eyes. "If I coulda' found somethin' better, I would 'ave!"

Everyone seemed to be in a grouchy mood that morning. Sebastian's tail; twitched and he meekly swam down to chew on some of the clear-weed. He didn't stray too close to his upset friends. He felt that something unpleasant was floating in the sea and it would be underway all too soon.  
After everyone was done eating, Sebastian made to swim off in the direction they had been traveling in for days, but Bruce stopped him.

"'Bastian, could we have a word with you?"

Sebastian stopped and turned to face them all; the bad feeling grew to a knot in his stomach. "Yes," he swam closer.

"Listen, mate," Chum spoke up, "we've all...well, we've all eh...come to a decision!" He said at last when Anchor gave him a nudge in the gills.

"A decision?" The tiger shark asked. He tilted his head to the side, faking curiosity, "What about?"

Anchor sighed and pushed his way in front of Chum, "Y'see, 'Bastian...we all think it's best if we...sort of, well," he fidgeted with his fins.

Sebastian gave an exasperated sigh. "You all have decided to leave me to my mission and leave so you can carry on with your lives...is that right?"

Chum's eyes bugged out, "Alright, no one told me this guy's a mind-reader!"

"S'nothing personal, mate," Anchor said after prying Chum off his fin, "It's just that we all 'ave lives of our own and...to be blunt, we'd like to get on with 'em."

'Why am I not surprised,' Sebastian thought. He folded his fins as best he could and said, "Look, I really don't know...how else to thank you all for helping me, I mean I'm sure you didn't want to go so far from home, but-"

"'Bastian," Bruce spoke up. It was quite a while since Sebastian had made an attempt to speak to Bruce, and this came as a nasty surprise, "You're a great pal to 'ave around an all...but it doesn't seem like you belong 'ere...in the ocean."

"With you guys," he added.

"Right," Bruce nervously nibbled on his fin tip.

Sebastian sighed. "Okay. You guys have helped me more than I thought you would, and I just want to say thanks. I suppose it's only fair that you all go home. Sorry for asking you to do this...but you guys have been great friends," he added as an afterthought, "Right," he breathed, "I guess there's not much else to say."

Jetty held Sebastian's eyes longer than the others did. Part of her wanted to scream in agony, with everything that happened and everything that she had been holding onto for so long, but the other side...the more logical side...told her it was best to let things flow with the tide, no matter how much one wanted it to be different.

Sebastian chuckled. "I've never liked goodbyes, but I think now is a necessary time to give them out. Bruce," he looked to the huge great white and smiled, his own glistening teeth flashing, "you'll achieve your goal someday. I know it, and I don't just know things that often."

Bruce blinked, and flashed Sebastian his own daunting grin.

"I'll see you all later. Or perhaps I won't."

Jetty's heart thumped inside her chest. "Eh, Sebastian," she said, using his full name for the first time. Sebastian's eyes fell upon her; he waited. "...Good luck," she finally managed after some time.

Sebastian nodded once, then swam away, far away as fast as he could into the depths of the ocean not even looking back, knowing that he would not be followed...not this time.

X X X X X X

"Well here we are," Moriarty sang. He slapped his hand on the side of the boat. A long string of chum was floating rapidly back and forth below the side of the boat. Mists of blood traveled far from the source.

"What...is this?" Allen demanded.

"What it looks like. Chum." Moriarty curtly responded. He seemed to enjoy annoying Allen with his unhurried answers.

"I can see that, but what is it for?"

"To attract your son her of course."

"Damn it, Moriarty!" Allen seized the scientist by his coat and brought him close to the edge of the boat, "What kind of game do you think you're playing here!"

"To tell you the truth," Moriarty choked, due to the fact that he was in danger of falling overboard next to a long string of shark bait, "I didn't have any plans in mind...to find your son that is...I'm just doing the best I can butifyouletme-!" he gasped as Allen griped tighter onto his coat, "this will surely attract Sebastian, because technically," cough, "he is a shark! It's likely he'll be attracted to this even if he were a fish-hater before!"

Allen roughly brought Moriarty back over the boat. "This had better work, you piece of scum," Allen could hardly keep his voice from shaking. He felt as if he were almost in a dream world; nothing that was happening to him could possibly be real. But it was real, and Allen had to keep his wits about him if he were to get his son back alive...and as a human.

"Ooooh dear," Moriarty's voice cut through Allen's musings.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I believe we have company."

Allen rushed over to the edge of the boat, hoping against hope that is son had come to them...but it couldn't have been him, not his son. A large pack of great whites had started circling and eyeing the chum curiously, and then they all started zooming at lightning speed to take bites out of the meat line. They were in frenzy.

"Haven't you thought about other sharks?" Allen asked still keeping his eyes on the great whites.

"I have, but Allen..." Moriarty winced, as if he were about to take a great leap, "as a man of science...as we are both men of science..." he looked at his rival, "I have to ask an odd favor of you, to have a little faith and wait for your son's return. That is the only thing I can offer." The crazy scientist looked as if he were on the verge of further madness, if that were possible.

X X X X X X

Sebastian grew more nervous by the minute. Sharks, particularly great whites, were becoming much more frequent, and within the last few minutes, he had to dodge out of the way of several of them to avoid being knocked aside.

'Something's going on here,' he thought.

He managed to stop an older shark that had trouble keeping up with everyone else. The shark shook his head. "There's a feedin' going on not to far a ways from 'ere. Aaagh, but I'm getting' too old to keep up with 'em nowadays."

Sebastian shook his head, still rather confused. In some strange way, having talked to that shark must have bolstered his confidence quite considerably; he decided to take his chances and stay with the group of sharks; they were heading his way anyway, and it wasn't like they knew he was human.

'I can't say I prefer this company to Bruce's and the others, but it's better than nothing.'


	22. Reunion and Surprise

_Note_: Greetings friends! It's true, I've decided to add another chapter...once in a blue moon! A thousand apologies for the delay. D: Just keep reminding me and I'm bound to get to it sooner or later. XD hugs to all Thanks for not givin' up!

_Real As the Sun_

Chapter 22

The currency of sharks around the boat grew denser every minute. Fins and tails began splashing out of the water every now and then, and the line that held the string of chum to the boat was snapping dangerously.

Allen and Moriarty hardly took their eyes off the water.

"I don't like this," Allen muttered, growing apprehensive.

Moriarty glanced at him and went over to the large container. He returned to Allen' side with a net...a _huge _net.

"What's _that _for?" Allen exclaimed.

"Your son," Moriarty boldly replied, "What did you _think _it was for?"

"Surely you don't plan on just...catching him like that?" Allen was nearly laughing at the absurdity of his ex-colleague's motivations.

"Of course I do."

"You can't." Allen was trying with all his might not to lash out at Moriarty. Forcing himself to use reason, he added, "Even if you could haul something as large as a tiger shark on board this boat...he wouldn't live without water...not for very long."

The scientist motioned toward the opposite end of the boat. "See those handles?"

Allen nodded after looking.

"Go over there and lift them up."

Allen did so and lifted the handles from what appeared to be a huge, sturdy tank.

"Water."

"Yes."

Allen turned to face the other man. "I've known you for a lot of crazy ideas," he said, looking back over the boat to see the sharks in their frenzy, "but this has to be _the _craziest you've ever presented me with."

X X X X X X

Unlike the other sharks that were gathering around, Sebastian took his time in traveling to the source of all the shark's excitement. He had already smelled the blood...but what was it that was dead? He hoped it wasn't a seal.

"Move outta the way, shrimpy!" Boomed a mean voice behind the tiger shark.

Sebastian dodged out of the way just in time to let a frighteningly huge bull shark to pass by. Many of the other sharks moved out of the way as the giant swam onward. Sebastian was stunned for a second, but recovered his wits and doubled his pace.

It wasn't long until he found exactly what all the fuss about. Appearing to be suspended in the water was a ball of chum, rapidly being torn away by hungry sharks. Blood came and floated off in wisps away from the bait and any scrap of fish was quickly taken up by a mouth full of teeth.

Sebastian shuddered slightly...and that was when he noticed the boat.

'No...it can't be...can it?' He thought and decided to take a closer swim. But suddenly a wave of desire hit him like a brick wall. Sebastian snarled and shook his head, mildly confused at what the sudden feeling was, and then it hit again with twice as much impact.

'What in the world is going on?' He thought, now frantically trying to keep his attention on the boat.

But the tiger shark's eyes fell upon the string of chum and he instantly knew what it was that was attacking him: the need for food. It all made sense to him now; he had never been as heavily tempted as he was before, because him and his friends had never been near anything with blood...except for Bruce, but he was much closer, and the initial shock of seeing the great white shoot after a seal had probably stunned Sebastian.

And now the blood, the dead fish, all took on a new meaning to Sebastian.

_Bite. Tear. Bite. Tear. _

Like a slingshot, the tiger shark homed in on the food and took a large piece out, swallowing it whole. He attempted to do this several more times, occasionally getting bits for himself, but he then heard a massive snarl behind him.

Even though the boy's brain was not totally in focus, he recognized the source as coming from the huge bull shark that pushed him out of the way earlier. But Sebastian refused to let go of his prize.

With a roar, the bull shark swam at full speed towards the hapless tiger, intending to cause him harm.

SMACK!

Sebastian was knocked roughly away from the chum line, where the bull shark was now feeding. With a growl he, along with a great many other sharks, fought their way to the center of the chum, ignoring the threats given off by the bull. But pretty soon the huge shark gained an upper fin by rudely shoving other sharks away, even snapping at them.

By now, Sebastian felt that he would go mad if he didn't feel the taste of fish in his mouth; he was the only one still attempting to get a bite of the food.

But the bull shark was too strong for him. Again and again, Sebastian was smacked and thwacked with the muscular tail of the larger shark, and again he tried fighting back. This time the bull had a firm grasp on Sebastian with his teeth, and Sebastian shook himself so furiously that the bull decided to let go.

And...just before the bull shark made a launch to take Sebastian out with a bite from his jaws, something very swift and very strong crashed into the bull shark.

Sebastian shook his head, trying to regain his senses. The attack from the bull must have knocked him clean.

"What just...happened?" He wondered aloud. His dorsal fin hurt dreadfully, but at least it wasn't bleeding. Then he turned to look and see what had stopped the bull shark from making his final move.

"BRUCE!"

It was his friend. Bruce managed to stall the angry bull shark for a few minutes; he took the opportunity to meet his friend.

"Bruce, I-!"

"No time, 'Bastian 'ol buddy!" Bruce cut him off cheerily, despite the dire circumstances, "You 'ave to go find your parents. They could be up there," he pointed with his fin toward the boat.

"But Bruce!"

"No time, mate!" The great white suddenly swerved and missed an attack by the bull shark.

Sebastian was aggravated to leave his friend to fight alone, and most of the other sharks were tackling what bits of chum there were left, but...

The tiger shark knew he didn't want Bruce's efforts to be in vain, so he swam up toward the boat.

X X X X X X

"Oh my heavens..._look_!" Allen shouted and pointed toward the water.

Moriarty rushed to his side. "What? What is it?"

"A tiger shark! It's my _son_!"

"Moriarty shielded his eyes from the sun. "How can you be so s-"

But he was stopped short when the narrow head of a tiger shark loomed up out of the water, blinking with intelligent eyes at the two men. Before either of them could react, the shark flipped backwards into the water, over and over again and looking more like a playful dolphin than a shark.

"I don't believe it..." Moriarty breathed after a while, "It _is _him..."

"I don't believe it!" Allen breathed, "It's my son...a whole year, I..."

The tiger shark swam up once again. It was indeed Sebastian. He locked eyes with his human father, and the two recognized each other at once.

But the moment was cut short, for Moriarty, having recovered from the shock of seeing his rival's son as a shark after an entire year, had grabbed the large net and attempted to seize Sebastian.

"NO!" Allen lunged for the crazed scientist. But Moriarty had a firm hold on the net and wouldn't let go. The two of them wrestled with the thing for quite a while, until Moriarty delivered a kick to Allen's shins.

Allen fell with a thud, and Sebastian cried out. He wasn't sure, nor did he care, whether the two could hear his voice or not; it didn't matter. Now two people he cared about were in trouble: his father and Bruce. Sebastian didn't know how Bruce was faring down below, and he was overcome with confusion and panic.

Moriarty only succeeded in hitting part of the net on Sebastian's head every now and then, because the tiger kept dodging the scientist's attempts to capture him. Moriarty tried one more time, but Sebastian, to his own surprise, managed to whack the net away with his tail.

That was the last chance Moriarty had, for Allen appeared behind him and shoved the scientist into the water, before he could do any more damage to his son.

Moriarty was dazed for a moment, and when he opened his eyes he wished he hadn't, for there, right in front of him, were tens of hundreds of sharks, or so it seemed. The creatures took notice of the flailing scientist right away and made a cautious approach.

Panic swept over Moriarty like a high tide, and as fast as he could, he started swimming away from the pursuing creatures. They came on faster and faster until the scientist was surrounded...

And he couldn't even scream.

Note: So what do you think guys? Should I give Moriarty to the sharks? XD Oh well, there's that for the 22nd chapter! Hopefully I won't take as long coming in with the 23rd. ;)


	23. A New Life

_Note_: Good God, you all probably though I died or something. XD

Alas, I am still here and intend to give you all an extra-long chapter in repentance for my absence. D I still don't intend to give up on this story!

Some parts of this chapter aren't going to seem very realistic, but let's face it, human DNA being turned into shark DNA is as unrealistic as it gets. XP

_Real As the Sun_

Chapter 23

Sebastian was momentarily stunned. In all the confusion, he vaguely heard the sound of something large falling into the water and looking, he recognized the flailing figure as Moriarty. He didn't know what to do. Down below Bruce was trying to keep the aggressive bull shark at bay, and up above there was Moriarty, probably the only man in the world who could turn Sebastian back into his old self.

But at that moment, his mind was made up for him. Moriarty was pulled out of the water by Sebastian's father before the excited sharks got the idea that the scientist might be good to eat.

'That settles it…I have to go help Bruce!' Sebastian thought and immediately swam as fast as he could to his friend.

Meanwhile up at the surface, Allen and Moriarty were having a battle of their own. Still shaken up and panting from his stumble, Moriarty was clutching at his heart and only half listening to what Allen was saying to him.

"You fool!" the angry father ranted, "You complete _imbecile_!" This went on for a few minutes before Moriarty got the gall to speak.

"Wonderful, Allen," he said, nearly breathless and soaking, "You push me in…only to pull me out…"

"Listen to me," Allen continued but in a slightly more subtle tone, "I saved you because so far as I know, you're the only one that can change my son back into a human, so I kind of _need _you!"

Moriarty's only response was to stare bemusedly back at Allen, soaking, shaken, and unresponsive. He drew a hand across his face as Allen quickly went to look over the side of the boat.

"…Where is Sebastian?" he asked. Moriarty eased himself up and looked over as well. "He's not here…"

"I don't know…_drat _it all, you should have let me catch him when I had the chance…"

"Let you catch him?! You didn't have the faintest idea what you were doing!"

"Well, if _you _have a better idea…"

X X X X X X

"_Bruce_!" Sebastian called as the massive form of the great white came into view. And so did the form of the bull shark as he came closer.

Bruce snarled loudly and lunged at the other, who met Bruce's show of strength with an equal amount of his own. The two dodged each other this way and that, striking here and there when they thought their opponent was off guard. Sebastian had planned to help, but now that he saw them in such a violent frenzy he wasn't sure _how _to help.

"HEY YOU!" he shouted as loud as he dared, then felt rather stupid doing so. Two fighting sharks aren't going to give a second thought to some voice, so, what he did…

Lunging as fast as he possibly could, Sebastian rammed himself into the side of the shark, striking right where the gills were, winding the creature for a moment. The angry bull shark did a double take as Sebastian just barely dodged the creature's teeth and attempted to push him out of Bruce's way. Bruce recovered in time to react to Sebastian's attempted save.

"Bastian?"

"Are you ok?" He panted.

"Never better," he grinned, "It'll take more than an ol' bull shark to take me down!"

"Bruce, I'm here to help-" he was cut off as the bull made an attempted attack, but Sebastian was quicker and managed to give him a good whack in the eyes. That stunned him for a moment, so Sebastian took the opportunity to get to Bruce. "My father…he was up there, and Moriarty fell into the water, but he was pulled back up and-"

"Whoa there, mate! Take a breather," Bruce's eyes widened in concern.

"I came to help you; you're in more danger than my father."

"'Bastian, if you don't get up there you'll be stuck as a shark forever!"

"…But you're my friend…I don't leave my friends behind."

Before they could say more, a sudden brown blur streaked past them and rammed into the bull shark, who had just nearly recovered from his momentary blindness. Another blur flew past them, but this one was blue. Bruce and Sebastian recognized the shapes right away as Anchor and Chum. Luckily for them, their collision with the bull shark had done a lot of good, because the shark was now completely overwhelmed by the presence of so many sharks working against him that he decided to swim away from the scene.

"Good goin', Chum and Anchor!" Bruce cheered his friends, giving them each a friendly pat on the back.

Sebastian was overjoyed that his friends cared about him enough to come back, but there was still one unresolved matter he needed to take care of. He looked around; by now the chum was all gone and nothing but scales and flakes remained, floating lazily in the water. Most of the feeding sharks had left, and the big bull that Bruce fought was gone as well.

The tiger shark directed his gaze out into the blue depths. Jetty hadn't come, he knew. He couldn't blame her. He had, after all, neglected to tell all of them the truth about what he really was for the longest time. He didn't want to think about Jetty too much though, for obvious reasons. Some things were best left unsaid.

"We thought you guys were done for!" Chum said coming up beside Anchor.

"Yeah, right, we 'ad to follow you all the way!"

"Look now, mates, 'Bastian needs our help," Bruce said, "'Is father is up there now," He pointed his fin.

'But what am I supposed to _do_?' the tiger shark thought as he frantically made his way towards the surface with the others.

"_Dad_!" Sebastian cried out after breaking the surface, momentarily forgetting that his father couldn't understand him. He looked deep into his father's eyes, trying to make him understand.

A tiny splashing noise reached his ears, and he eagerly looked into the water on the other side of the boat, only to find the face, the _shark_ face, of his son looking up at him.

"Sebastian-" Allen began sorrowfully.

Sebastian gave a single nod and turned on his side, gazing at his father with one eye. The two had no way to communicate except by looks, so that's exactly what Sebastian did. He loved the ocean deeply, and he loved living in it even more, despite the constant dangers it presented and the different way of living. But he felt that, in some way, he truly did belong there. It had been his home for an entire year, and despite how much he missed his human life, the thought of leaving the ocean, and his friends, saddened him to no end.

"Sebastian," Allen said again, reaching a hand out to stroke the shark's side. "Let me take you home; we'll get Moriarty to reverse the damage that's been done. We can help you, son, just come with me!"

Moriarty, who had previously had his hands tied behind his back before he could cause any more mischief, rolled his eyes. He had _no_ intention of reversing the process he developed, not when he had the whole world to convince of his scientific abilities, and no amount of threats on Allen's behalf would change his mind.

Sebastian knew what his father was trying to tell him. The shark slowly retreated from the human's loving hand and swam away slowly, but not disappearing from his father's view.

Allen had a puzzled look on his face. "'Bastian? Where are you going!" He called. "'Bastian!"

Sebastian circled once, then came back to the boat's side. He raised his narrow head out of the water and stared at his father for the longest time. Allen didn't say a word, but after a while seemed to understand the message behind his son's moves. He couldn't believe it.

"No…Sebastian…" He shook his head. "_You have to come home_!"

Once again, Sebastian delivered the message by swimming away from the boat. Allen was desperate.

"Sebastian! You have to come home!" He called, not even feeling silly for shouting at a shark in the water, "Your mother and I miss you! Your family needs you! You're our _son_!"

At this, the tiger shark stopped. He hovered in the same place for a few minutes before turning around and slowly approaching his father, the human. One last look from him was all the reassurance his father needed. The sea was Sebastian's home now, not the land. He would always love his parents, his human family, but he wasn't human any more. He was a shark. Moriarty's experiments had cut deeper than just the outer appearances.

Allen, disappointed and more than stunned, reached out one last time to stroke the shark's head. Sebastian blinked once and nuzzled his father's hand, letting him know he still loved him.

It was a while before Allen finally said anything, the impact of his son's decision weighing heavily in his mind. "…We'll find you," he said softly, "…Your mother and I will come out here and visit you…"

Sebastian blinked and smiled. Not any smile a human would recognize, but he smiled nonetheless. Father and son held each other's gaze for some time before Allen started up the boat and Sebastian backed away, eventually sinking below the surface. The rumbling noise of the boat taking off sounded different underwater, and Sebastian waited and watched as the trail of bubbles disappeared as the boat went further away.

Slowly, Bruce, Anchor, and Chum came by Sebastian's side, who didn't give any indication he knew they were there.

"'Bastian?" Chum asked.

The tiger shark blinked dazedly and turned to look at his friends. He sighed.

"What was all that about?" Anchor asked.

"I've decided to stay, you guys," Sebastian answered, "I've lived here in the ocean for so long; I don't think I could leave it now…" It was an understatement, but he knew he couldn't make them understand without going into great, painstakingly long detail.

"But you're a human!" Chum exclaimed. "You may 'ave been here for a while, but you've spent your entire life on land!"

Sebastian laid his fin on Chum's backside, the shark equivalent of resting a hand on someone's shoulder. "I know what I'm doing, and I realize that this means I won't ever live the life I had on land…but it's a decision _I've_ made." He looked at Bruce. "You said I didn't belong here, in the ocean with you guys…but…I've had a lot of time to think this over, and I know for a fact that this is what I want…" He looked at each of them, wondering how they would take it.

Bruce and Anchor exchanged looks while Chum just stared at Sebastian.

"You guys still want me here…right?" Sebastian asked, almost fearing what they would say.

"Are you KIDDIN'?" Chum swam up to him, "Why, you're the newest member of our club! '_Course _we want you back, mate!"

Sebastian looked happy and a little surprised. "You mean it?"

"Sure we do!" Bruce chimed in, "'Sides, 'aving a tiger shark become part of the group would 'elp us a great deal!"

"The more, the merrier, right?" Anchor asked.

"Right," Sebastian said, relieved that his friends still wanted him to be a part of their group. If they didn't, he didn't know what he would have done; he would have had virtually no one to turn to. But like true friends, they didn't abandon him.

"Alright, this'll be great!" Chum nodded, "We 'ave ourselves a new representative! 'Bastian 'ere can speak for the well-being of all tiger sharks-"

"But he wasn't always a tiger shark," Anchor cut in, "He was born a human."

While Anchor and Chum continued to banter back and forth, Sebastian's mind wandered. He thought of Jetty, how close a friend she had been even when they had barely known each other. He wondered if he would ever see her again. The ocean did, after all, cover over sixty percent of the earth's surface (he recalled from one of his dad's lectures.) The odds of the two running into each other again seemed small.

But Sebastian refrained from asking them about her. The less he thought about the mako, the better.

"You'll be missin' your father before long, 'Bastian. Are you sure you made the right choice?" Bruce asked, yanking Sebastian away from his thoughts.

He gave a single nod. "Yes…Yes, I'm sure." He paused, suddenly thinking of something he wanted to ask the great white. "…Bruce? When I left you guys and found my the boat my dad was in, there was shark bait hanging on a string, and I smelled it…" he stopped, remembering the terrifying feeling of having absolutely no control over his craving for the bloody fish.

Bruce stared in mild confusion for a moment, but then his ever-famous grin returned once more. "So…first smell of blood, eh mate?" He gave a short laugh, then held up his fin as if to whisper, "It's one thing we sharks 'ave trouble controlling," his face grew more serious, "Lost a great many fish-friends that way…We just can't 'elp ourselves…"

Sebastian stared at Bruce for a minute, then shook his head, unsatisfied. "It was so weird…it was scary. I've always had control of myself, my entire life, but smelling the blood was different. It was as if…" he struggled to find the right words to make Bruce understand, "…It was as if I were a different person, not even myself, but…"

"A monster?" Bruce ventured.

"Yes!" He looked at the great white. "That's exactly it!"

Bruce blinked. "That's what the F.E.A. is tryin' t'change, mate."

Sebastian had almost forgotten about the Fish Eater's Anonymous. Back when he had first met the three sharks, it all seemed like a relatively simple and easy thing to accomplish, but he hadn't smelled blood before then. Now that he'd experienced the need to go on a feeding frenzy, the need for blood, he wasn't sure the goal of the F.E.A. would be such an easy thing to achieve after all.

In fact, he wasn't sure it would work out at _all_.

"Bruce…" he began hesitantly.

Bruce swam a bit closer. Anchor and Chum ceased their debate, picking up on the delicate moment, and closed in to hear what Sebastian was going to say.

"I don't think…" the tiger shark stopped, not having the heart to tell those three hopeful faces just what he thought the only outcome of the F.E.A. could be. It wasn't something he thought would work, not now that he knew the crazy desire of blood once scented, but he couldn't tell them that. So, he changed his response, "I don't think your goal will be that hard to achieve."

Bruce, Anchor, and Chum all exchanged glances, feeling like there was something Sebastian wasn't letting on, but they shrugged and didn't press the matter any further. The important thing was that no one was injured in the fight with the bull shark, Sebastian found his father, and he was now here to stay for good.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beat," Anchor said, "Let's start headin' home."

"Right you are, mate," Chum concurred, swimming up beside the hammerhead with Bruce and Sebastian following, "It's been a long day…"

On the way home, Sebastian couldn't keep his mind from wandering again. He was tired, but so many things had happened that day that were still hard for him to believe. The choice he made to stay in the ocean as a shark may have seemed spontaneous to his father, but the desire had been in him all along.

His first smell of blood as a shark…Humans, of course, didn't have half the sense of smell that sharks had. When Sebastian smelled the blood from the bait, it was magnified in such a way that made him feel like his senses were being overwhelmed by that single smell. No wonder sharks were crazy for blood; they really couldn't help themselves. Sebastian shuddered to think that even the smell of human blood would most likely drive him over the edge.

Jetty…well…the poor tiger shark felt uncomfortable whenever he thought of Jetty. Sure he liked her a lot, but the thought of her seeing him as something more than a friend (and vice versa) was too frightening a prospect for him to dwell upon. He may be a shark now, but his mind was still very much human. Though he did hope to see her again someday, he buried the thought of Jetty deep into the crevices of his mind until the time came when he would be ready to bring them out.

X X X X X X

"Here we are, at last!" Chum breathed as the sight of the familiar ship greeted them.

After the long swim, Sebastian felt he could do with a bit of rest. Naturally, his shark body didn't require sleep like his human body did, but he still needed to rejuvenate. The others were tired too, so for the rest of the afternoon they did nothing but relax from their excursion.

When he was fully rested, the others were no where to be seen. Sebastian yawned and warily swam down the ship's corridors, when he peeked casually out one of the portholes and saw the three sharks near a kelp bed. Sebastian hurriedly swam out to meet them, disappointed he was the last one to wake.

"Hi you guys!" he greeted, "Sorry I was resting for so long."

"No need to be sorry, 'Bastian!" Bruce spoke, raising his head from underneath a tangled pile of seaweed. "We knew you needed a little shut-eye, so we let ya rest a while longer."

Sebastian shrugged bashfully and Chum added, "'Sides, we wanted to beat you to the kelp bed!"

Anchor laughed. "But 'Bastian doesn't like kelp yet. Still stickin' to the clear stuff, he is," he looked at Bruce, "Brucie, this is gonna be one long twelve-step program…"

"Well, as long as I don't eat fish, it doesn't matter, right?" Sebastian ventured, remembering his first taste of seaweed. "Honestly you guys, I don't think I'll ever get used to the taste of kelp."

"Well, whatever sinks your boat," Chum said and dove for more seaweed.

Sebastian watched them for a few moments before swimming a ways out to sea. He gazed up at the surface and thought about his parents. He would miss them, he knew, but his father did say they would visit him. As for Moriarty, well…despite the fact that he indirectly ended up giving Sebastian an extraordinary life, he hoped the scientist's fate lied behind bars.

Bruce swam up beside the tiger shark, following his gaze to the surface.

"You miss your parents, eh?" he said, bringing Sebastian out of his daze.

"I'll always miss them," he said, but gave a small laugh, "But they're great parents. I may not be fully grown, but I know they taught me well…Not any skills I could ever put to use in the ocean," he added as an afterthought, "but I'll never forget the values they taught me."

Bruce smiled thoughtfully, his gleaming eyes still lingering on the surface. "Your parents did right by you, mate. Even _I_ can see that," he nodded.

"Bruce, look, I want to thank you for being a friend to me…I wouldn't be where I am right now if it weren't for you, Anchor, and Chum."

Bruce was glowing. "That's what friends are for, mate!" He glanced back. "Now let's get back to that kelp patch before those two blokes finish it up for us," he laughed, and Sebastian couldn't help but laugh as well. Together, the two sharks swam off into the blue backdrop, toward home and toward their friends. Sebastian looked foreword to a future filled with adventure with his shark friends, who had stayed by his side until the very end.


End file.
